LAFC hosted Inter Miami in an MLS season opener on Saturday at the LA Memorial Coliseum. With more than 750,00 fans in attendance, the game attracted largest crowd for a soccer game in the world last weekend, an MLS record for a season opener and the second-largest crowd for any MLS game in league history.
Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi headlines every game he plays in. He set franchise attendance records as a visitor for three different MLS teams: Sporting Kansas City, Chicago Fire, New England Revolution.
But on Saturday, the crowd was not there for the eight-time Ballon d’Or award winner. Instead, the crowd showed their support for LAFC.
“The fans immediately started booing Inter Miami and Messi as they came out of the tunnel for warmups,” said high-ranking MLS executive, per the Los Angeles Times “And that continued throughout the game. There were hardly any pink jerseys in the crowd. It was a real testament to the incredible fan base of LAFC.”
LAFC Defeated Inter Miami
The home-crowd support helped push LAFC to a dominant 3-0 win over Inter Miami.
Forward David Martínez scored the first goal in the first half. Then, forward Denis Bouanga added a second goal to the score in the second half. Forward Nathan Ordaz put the third in the back of the net in extra time.
“This atmosphere in the stadium is nice for the team. We know the fans are coming to support us,” LAFC striker Denis Bouanga said, per the Los Angeles Times. “It’s good for me and my teammates.”
LAFC’s fanbase was also part of largest crowd for any MLS game in league history in 2023 when the team played LA Galaxy in front of 82,110 spectators at the Rose Bowl.
Photo Credit: Kelvin Kuo-Imagn Images
The post LAFC Fans Outnumber Lionel Messi Supporters in Record MLS Opener vs Inter Miami appeared first on LA Sports Report.
