The match started with Flamengo pressing high and dominating in the opposition half with Uruguayan playmaker Giorgian de Arrascaeta pulling the strings in midfield.

LAFC struggled to contain the Brazilians’ pace and had little possession of the ball.

The first clear chance actually fell to Los Angeles. A corner found midfielder Mark Delgado unmarked at the edge of the box, and his curling strike cannoned off the post.

Flamengo created numerous chances but were let down by their finishing. On the other side, the Americans finally began to string together some passes and find Bouanga.

The French-Gabonese forward was one of Los Angeles’ few bright spots in the first half, though he mostly received the ball in areas far from goal.

Flamengo put Los Angeles under more pressure in the second half with Pedro positioning himself just outside the box and unleashed a powerful shot that once again crashed against the crossbar.

That’s how the match was unfolding — with LAFC barely hanging on in their own box — when midfielder Timothy Tillman quickly took a free kick from his own half and found Bouanga behind the defense.

The striker controlled the ball, found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Agustín Rossi and put Los Angeles ahead — to everyone's astonishment.

Felipe Luís' men were on the verge of losing their unbeaten record to a team that had already suffered two defeats and was eliminated but  Yan had other ideas when the forward shrugged off a defender, accelerated into the box, and beat Lloris with a perfectly placed low shot across goal.