After their 1-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City last weekend to open their 2023 regular season at home, the Timbers travelled to California to take on league defending champion Los Angeles FC, and though they looked good at times, the league champions were just able to hold off the Timbers, and LAFC would emerge with a 3-2 win.
Giorgio Chiellini opened up the scoring for LAFC in the 24th minute when the Timbers were sloppy trying to clear an LAFC corner kick, and Chiellini finished easily from close-in for the 1-0 lead, tallying his first ever MLS goal. After the Timbers seemed fortunate to have a second LAFC goal (off their second corner kick) disallowed, the third corner kick would bit them again when Santiago Moreno was called for a foul in the box, and Carlos Vela stopped up and beat David Bingham on the penalty for the 2-0 lead, which would be the score at the break.
In the 52nd minute, Los Angeles FC would widen their lead even more when Kwadwo Opoku took advantage of the Timbers losing the ball deep in their own end, and beat Bingham from near the top of the box for the 3-0 lead.
But 10 minutes later, in the 62nd minute, the Timbers would pull a goal back when Juan David Mosquera would play a ball that was dummied by Cristhian Paredes, and fell to Evander who beat John McCarthy with a curling shot to the near post, and the score was now 3-1 LAFC.
And then in the 84th minute, the Timbers scored again when off a corner kick, McCarthy found himself out of position as the corner curled away from him. Though the initial follow-up shot by Mosquera towards the unguarded was blocked by a defender, a bicycle-kick attempt on the rebound was made by Nathan Fogaça, without much pace, but it turned out to be a lucky pass to Paredes, who finished from just a yard or two out, and just like that, the Timbers were within a goal at 3-2.
But the Timbers could never find the equalizing goal, and LAFC would emerge with the 3-2 win.
