South Korea star Son Heung-min made his MLS debut for Los Angeles FC on Saturday, providing a burst of energy as a second-half substitute in a 2-2 draw with the Fire in Chicago.
Son drew a penalty in the 77th minute that Denis Bouanga converted to clinch the draw in the 81st minute – VAR confirming the spot kick after the referee initially let play continue.
“Obviously it was definitely contact and it was definitely a penalty, I have no doubt about it,” said Son, who was sent sprawling in the area by Carlos Teran after getting loose on a breakaway. “And, yeah, we tied the game, but I think we should have won this game, [so] a little bit disappointed.”
In addition to drawing the penalty, Son had three shots on goal – all saved with relative ease by Fire keeper Chris Brady.
Son signed with LAFC on Wednesday for a reported MLS record transfer fee of $26m transfer after a decade with Tottenham in the Premier League – where he became a household name.
The South Korea captain had announced just the previous Saturday in his homeland that he would be leaving Spurs. He departed as Tottenham’s fifth-highest goalscorer of all time with 173 goals in 454 appearances.
Son’s first chance to play in front of home fans in Los Angeles will come against Western Conference leaders San Diego on 31 August. Son’s move is expected to resonate with Los Angeles’ sizeable Korean community. The team’s stadium is just south of Koreatown.
But plenty of his jerseys, South Korean flags and signs welcoming him to MLS were dotted around the Fire’s SeatGeek Stadium on Saturday, and cheers greeted his entry in place of David Martinez in the 61st minute with the teams level at 1-1.
“I really enjoyed it. You never had this coming from away games,” said Son. “I used to play in the Premier League. When I played at away grounds they were always booing me and always booing the players. But it was nice to see people were celebrating, people were enjoying the football.”
Jonathan Bamba put Chicago up 2-1 in the 70th minute. Teran had opened the scoring in the 11th with a header off a corner kick. Eight minutes later Ryan Hollingshead nodded in off a corner kick to pull LAFC level at 1-1.
Son had said at his introductory press conference on Wednesday that he felt fighting fit and wanted to get on the pitch “as soon as possible.” His arrival reunites him with former Tottenham teammate Hugo Lloris, the French goalkeeper who said the South Korean will make a “big impact.”
“It’s great for the league, great for the city, great for the club,” Lloris said.
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