It was a night that could have been shot or drawn up for Son Heung-min. The star Los Angeles Football Club forward scored twice in three-minute periods in the first half to propel the MLS All-Stars to a thrilling 4-3 victory Wednesday night at Bank of America Stadium over the LIGA MX All-Stars. Both goals were on assists from Carles Gil and the dynamic attacker celebrated each goal as if he was in the old-fashioned camera stage and framed the shot with his fingers and pretended to take a picture of the field. Son was the game’s MVP.
The entertaining exhibition did not start smoothly for the MLS side. Luis Gabriel Rey sent a powerful running header off a free kick to the United States men’s national team goalkeeper Matt Freese from 10 minutes into the match to give LIGA MX a 1-0 lead.
That was when Son really came to the pitch. On the left side of the field, the LAFC star took a pass from Gil at the ball and confidently and precisely shot in the back of the net from 20 minutes into the match with a perfect shot right at a diving Carlos Acevedo. Just moments later, Son gave the MLS a permanent lead. Gil rushed hard to keep the ball from crossing the end line and passed a quick pass back to the goal where Son slung it into the net.
Teammates and opponents were impressed by the forward’s brilliance. Hany Mukhtar, Nashville FC’s midfielder, praised Son after the match saying Son was an outstanding player who shows his skills every week.
MLS All-Stars continued to pressure their foes before halftime. Philip Zinckernagel restored the lead to 3-1 in the 42nd minute with a goal from a sharp rebound for Chicago Fire. LIGA MX came back with a goal by Salomon Rondon in the second half to make it 3-2 but FC Cincinnati’s Evander da Silva Ferreira restored a two-goal cushion for MLS in the 58th minute. A stoppage time goal from Jose Pardela took LIGA MX to 4-3 but the MLS held on for the win.
And in this match it was not without the league’s biggest star Lionel Messi of Inter Miami, who was granted an excused absence with his teammate Rodrigo De Paul following Argentina’s deep run to the World Cup final against Spain. Messi has 12 goals and eight assists for Inter Miami at the All-Star break.
The event was also a huge showcase for the city of Charlotte’s soccer event beyond a lot of the action on the field. Organizers are looking forward to the city’s MLS All-Star Game to be a real first step toward hosting the City of Charlotte as well, and this will be a very big step in the process of getting on the list of venues to host the 2031 Women’s FIFA World Cup in the city. Charlotte has an incredibly passionate fan base for Charlotte FC and Bank of America Stadium has been getting a lot of good reviews after big soccer events for years now. It is currently in the midst of a $1.3 billion renovation project that is expected to be completed by 2030 and its progress towards the status as one of the top global international soccer venues is ongoing.
