Vela’s hat trick leads LAFC to 3-0 opening win over Colorado

LOS ANGELES — Carlos Vela scored the third hat trick of his Major League Soccer career and the Los Angeles Football Club opened the season with a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday

According to MLS, it is the fifth time a player has scored a hat trick in a team’s opener. The last time was the LA Galaxy’s Mike Magee in 2013 against the Chicago Fire.

Vela was the league’s Most Valuable Player in 2019 with 34 goals before being limited by injuries; the Mexican standout had just nine goals in 27 appearances the past two seasons.

“We all know what he can do, and he showed it again today,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. “He has worked very hard during the preseason to get where he is today. He knows that to be able to play like that he needs to put in the work, and he did.”

Vela and Latif Blessing are the only players who have been with the club since its first season in 2018, but the option on Vela’s contract expires in June.

Possession was even, but LAFC had a 15-7 edge in total shots and 7-1 in shots on goal as Cherundolo won his debut as head coach. Cherundolo replaced Bob Bradley, who went to Toronto after four seasons in LA.

“We were a little fortunate with a couple situations where we didn’t get a red card. In order to win 3-0 you have to be lucky,” Cherundolo said.

Colorado was the Western Conference’s regular-season champion last year, but looked out of sync.

“We started well in terms of control of the game. A couple of lapses led to goals that led to us chasing the game,” coach Robin Fraser said.

Vela got things going in the 29th minute when he scored on a penalty kick after Colorado’s Lalas Abubakar was called for a hand ball in the penalty area. Vela shot to the left side of the net after Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough went right.

Six minutes later, Vela got behind the Rapids’ defense after a long pass from Jose Cifuentes and finished it off with a right-footed shot from the center of the box to put LAFC up 2-0 at halftime.

Vela then completed the seventh hat trick in club history with a left-footed strike just inside the box that went into the far side of the net.

“We had to defend as a team. When we did, we limited his touches, but turnovers and poor play led to chances,” Fraser said. “You have to have density around a player like that. He got isolated and made it count.”