Gareth Bale, LAFC Beat Philadelphia Union on Penalty Kicks to Win 2022 MLS Cup

For the first time in club history, Los Angeles FC are winners of the MLS Cup after defeating the Philadelphia Union 3-0 on penalty kicks Saturday in front of their home crowd at Banc of California Stadium.

With the match tied 3-3 through extra time, it was sent to penalty kicks to determine a winner, and Denis Bouanga, Ryan Hollingshead and Ilie Sánchez all made their kicks to power the Black and Gold to victory.

John McCarthy, who came on in relief of an injured Maxime Crépeau in extra time, was also brilliant in stopping all of Philadelphia's penalties. He went on to be named MLS Cup MVP.

LAFC kicked things off early, taking a 1-0 lead in the 28th minute on a free kick just outside the penalty area.

The Black and Gold were awarded the free kick after Union midfielder José Martínez was whistled for a foul, and Kellyn Acosta sent a shot into the bottom left corner of the goal to give LAFC a 1-0 lead.

LAFC took a 1-0 lead into the locker room at halftime, but the Philadelphia Union were quick to respond in the second half when Dániel Gazdag found the back of the net from inside the penalty area in the 59th minute, making it a 1-1 game.

LAFC were in good position to win the game in 90 minutes when Jesús Murillo broke the tie in the 83rd minute on a header off a corner kick that sailed past Union goalkeeper Andre Blake.

However, Philadelphia fought back again to tie the game 2-2 in the 85th minute when Jack Elliott scored on a header inside the box off a free kick that was awarded after LAFC's José Cifuentes was whistled for a foul.

With the game tied 2-2, it went to extra time, where chaos ensued in the 110th minute as LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau collided with Cory Burke while rushing out of the net to prevent a goal.

Crépeau was initially given a yellow card before being shown the red card in the 116th minute. He was carted off the field because of injury, and the Black and Gold were forced to play down a man for the remainder of the match.

John McCarthy came on in relief of Crépeau.

Burke was also subbed off in the 120th minute because of injury. He was replaced by Chris Donovan.

The Union went on to score the tiebreaker in the 124th minute when Elliott scored his second of the game following a corner kick. It looked like Elliott's goal was going to be the game winner—then Gareth Bale happened.

Bale, who was subbed on in extra time, tied the game 3-3 for LAFC in the 128th minute on a brilliant header from inside the box. His goal sent the game to penalty kicks.

LAFC's win on penalty kicks capped off an impressive 2022 season that saw them finish first in the Western Conference with a 21-4-9 record, tying the Union for the most points in MLS with 67.