Former Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini believes the combination of Gabon forward Denis Bouanga and South Korea superstar Heung-Min Son can win a second MLS Cup title for Los Angeles FC, Afrosport reports.
Bouanga has been in top goalscoring form for LAFC this year with 22 goals, which sees him sit second in the scorers’ charts just two strikes behind talisman Lionel Messi of Inter Miami.
The 30-year-old recently became the club’s all-time top scorer after surpassing Carlos Vela to record 94 goals following his hat-trick in the 4-1 win over Real Salt Lake at the weekend.
Bouanga also became the first player in MLS history to score 20+ goals in three consecutive seasons.
Son, meanwhile, joined LAFC from Tottenham Hotspur in a league record deal and already has six goals and three assists in seven games, including a hat-trick against Real Salt Lake.
“This special duo could give us a lot of hope for the playoffs,” Chiellini said on the This is MLS podcast.
“… I think it could be a monster duo for the league.”
This duo 🤩
Denis and Sonny have been named to the @MLS Team of the Matchday. https://t.co/fqGMTeRIzO pic.twitter.com/SEtYwkCTQ2
— LAFC (@LAFC) September 22, 2025
Chiellini speaking further about Bouanga, said: “He loves to play, and he loves to push himself on the game. He’s young enough and fit enough to have this type of consistency in the performances, but he can go back and forth for the whole game.”
Chiellini, along with Bouanga, were part of the LAFC side that won their maiden MLS Cup title in 2022.
