Son Heung-min equals Lionel Messi MLS assist milestone as LAFC secure 6-0 win
Son Heung-min was the driving force behind LAFC‘s dominant 6-0 victory over Orlando City, delivering a stunning performance on Saturday. With four assists on the night, the South Korean star has now matched an MLS milestone previously reached only by Lionel Messi.
The Boys in Gold were off and running in the seventh minute when Son drifted in from the right and delivered a powerful low cross that deflected off David Brekalo for an own goal. Son’s influence only grew from there, as Denis Bouanga completed a first-half hat trick with goals in the 20th, 23rd and 28th minutes, each one set up by the South Korean, before Sergi Palencia made it 5-0 in the 39th minute with yet another Son assist.
The performance made Son just the second player in MLS history to record four assists in a single half of a single game, a remarkable feat that has vaulted him to the top of the 2026 season’s assist leaderboard with six on the year.
The only other player to accomplish that feat was Lionel Messi, who in May 2024 delivered not four but five assists in Inter Miami’s 6-2 win over the New York Red Bulls. Unlike Son, Messi produced all five of his assists in the second half while also finding the net himself, giving him six direct goal involvements in a single MLS game, a record that still stands.
Because the opening goal was credited as an own goal, Son’s involvement on that play does not count as an official assist. Still, his direct impact on five of LAFC’s six goals in the first half is impossible to overlook. The victory moves LAFC to the top of the league table with five wins and one draw from six games, and with no goals conceded all season, the club is shaping up as a serious early contender for the Supporters’ Shield.
Son and Messi, the two most impactful players in MLS
After an initial half-season adjusting to a struggling Inter Miami side in 2023, Lionel Messi has completely transformed the club, rewriting the record books for goals and assists along the way. Son arrived at an already competitive LAFC, and his adaptation to the league has been so seamless that he is drawing direct comparisons to Messi’s impact.
According to data compiled by Squawka, since Son’s arrival in MLS, only Messi has been directly involved in more goals, counting both regular season and playoff matches. While the Inter Miami star sits at 38 total goal involvements, Son has wasted no time making his mark, racking up 12 goals and nine assists in 19 appearances for LAFC for a total of 21.