Hugo Lloris made six stops to keep his first clean sheet in MLS but LAFC was forced to settle for a 0-0 draw at home against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night.
The former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper’s best moments came before halftime of his third MLS game after the 37-year-old arrived at LAFC (1-1-1, 4 points) on a free transfer this offseason.
His counterpart Tim Melia also made six saves for Sporting KC (0-0-3, 3 points), which has now earned draws away to both 2023 Western Conference finalists after earning a 1-1 tie at Houston on the season’s opening weekend.
Conversely, Melia’s most important moments came in the final half-hour as LAFC turned up the late pressure in search of a winner.
Though Kansas City held more possession, chances were even on the evening with both teams finishing with 15 shot attempts and six shots on goal, but arguably LAFC had the higher quality chances over the 90 minutes.
It didn’t take long for Lloris to get involved. He had to retreat swiftly to push Johnny Russell’s deflected over the bar in the seventh minute.
Then 21 minutes later, Alan Pulido had an open look after an LAFC giveaway in their own end, with Lloris diving low to his left to make the denial from close range.
Kansas City continued to create chances impressively at a venue that plagues most visiting sides, but eventually, LAFC began to assert control.
Omar Campos nearly set up Cristian Olivera for a tap-in with an excellent run down the left and cross just after the hour mark, but Olivera narrowly missed connecting.
After Melia mistakenly handled an intentional back pass at the edge of his own area, Denis Bouanga fired just wide of the far post from the resulting indirect free kick in the 67th minute.
And then Melia made two of his best stops of the day, first denying Bouanga at the left post in the 81st minute, and then making an exceptional reaction stop of Olivera at the same side in second-half stoppage time.
–Field Level Media
