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Aug 20, 2023

LAFC knows Ilie Sanchez’s value beyond the stat sheet

Mahala Opoku screamed, turned and ran. The young Ghanian forward wasn’t escaping

Mahala Opoku screamed, turned and ran.

The young Ghanian forward wasn't escaping from anyone Saturday except a Real Salt Lake defender, but that's not why the Los Angeles Football Club forward acted like a victim in a slasher film.

In this case, Mahala was the one doing the stalking and his weapon of choice arrived with a long pass from Ilie Sanchez that soared over eight opponents.

Unable to score since a season-opening game-winner against Portland on March 4, Mahala signaled to the Spanish midfielder that he should unleash a pinpoint artillery strike with his right foot.

"At that moment when he gets the ball, he knows I’m going and I just scream," said Mahala, who controlled the ball off his chest while sprinting at full speed before beating the goalie on a half-volley that opened the scoring for LAFC's 3-0 victory in Utah.

"It was an amazing pass."

The sequence led to Sanchez's first assist in 10 MLS games this season. Rather unbelievably, it matched the Spaniard's assist total from the past three seasons combined.

During 78 league games since the start of the pandemic-shortened 2020 regular season, Sanchez has two goals and a pair of assists, yet is widely regarded as one of the key players in MLS.

If there's an argument to be made that statistics can't capture the full picture of a player's worth, Exhibit A wears No. 6 for LAFC

"Any time he can contribute in the old fashioned way with an assist or a goal, that's amazing but that's not why he's here," LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. "He's obviously a very important player for us. An intelligent player. And somebody who we love having around our performance center and stadium and this team."

For Cherundolo, pulling the right strings for LAFC has often meant leaning heavily on Sanchez – a classic defensive, tactically disciplined, decisive decision-maker in the midfield.

"The way we interpret that position in our formation is somebody who will definitely connect things and can break lines but should always be a valve for us, with the ball and without the ball," Cherundolo said. "Ilie plays that position perfectly."

The ball to Mahala, a moment they drilled during training, was a pristine example why, after joining LAFC as a free agent last year following five seasons with Sporting Kansas City, Sanchez became an integral piece of Cherundolo's lineup during the club's first league championship season.

"Really, he's the connector offensively and defensively," the coach said.

Sanchez finished lower than fifth place in the Western Conference just once with Sporting, helping secure a pair of No. 1 seeds in 2018 and 2020.

Without Sanchez, Sporting landed 12th out of 14 teams in the Western Conference last year.

Ahead of the clubs’ first regular-season meeting Wednesday at BMO Stadium, SKC (2-7-3, 9 points), led by longtime Coach Peter Vermes, lingers at the bottom of the Supporters’ Shield standings despite winning its last two games.

Meanwhile, LAFC (6-1-3, 21 points) continues to flourish as Sanchez repeatedly does fruitful things that may or may or not matter to the scoresheet.

Said Cherundolo: "He's scoring in my book."

When: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: BMO Stadium, Los Angeles

TV/Radio: Apple TV+ – MLS Season Pass/710 AM, 980 AM

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