If you think last year’s ouster in the Western Conference Knockout Round won't be a factor when Los Angeles Football Club host Real Salt Lake in Week 4 action on Saturday (10:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, on DAZN in Canada), Latif Blessing will set you straight.
The Ghanaian midfielder said the Black-and-Gold enter the game at Banco of California Stadium seeking revenge after last year’s stunning 3-2 home playoff loss to RSL.
“It’s payback, payback time, you know? These guys just ended our dream,” Blessing said after training Thursday. “It’s payback time.”
Not only is Blessing confident LAFC will get the revenge he seeks, but he also knows the final scoreline.
“Saturday, we’re going to beat them. We’re going to beat them five goals to one,” he said. “We’re going to do the same thing [we did] at their stadium. We’re going to do the thing here. It’s payback time.”
After arriving from Sporting Kansas City, Blessing scored his first goal for LAFC in that 5-1 victory at Rio Tinto Stadium in the side’s second MLS game. After Joao Plata opened the scoring for the hosts, Diego Rossi scored the first of his two goals 10 minutes later, Blessing put LAFC in front three minutes later and Benny Feilhaber, Rossi and Carlos Vela added second-half goals.
So who will score for LAFC Saturday night?
“Carlos will score first, then score second, I’ll score third, then [Adama Diomande] will score the fourth and last goal, I don’t have any idea, but I know we’ll score the last goal,” said Blessing, who also predicts he’ll assist on Vela’s brace.
One thing is certain, kickoff can’t come soon enough.
“We are ready,” Blessing said. “We’re ready to go Saturday.”
