Minnesota United was 12-plus minutes away from doing something no other MLS club has achieved against Los Angeles FC in season openers: force even a draw.

But one of the league’s marquee clubs did what they always do: get all three points in the first game of the year. Jeremy Ebobisse’s goal from outside the 18-yard box in the 78th minute was the difference in a 1-0 win Saturday at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

LAFC’s eight straight season-opening wins since 2018 stands as an MLS record.

The Loons, meanwhile, snapped an unbeaten run in three straight openers, winning at Austin last year, at Dallas in 2023 and drawing at Philadelphia in 2022.

A year ago, the Loons and LAFC were tied for the best road records (8-6-3) in MLS, but Minnesota couldn’t start strong again this season.

“I’m frustrated,” head coach Eric Ramsay said, “because I felt like it was a game we were in all the way through. We had a couple of really clear-cut big chances early on in the game that, I think, when you come to somewhere like this, you are pretty reliant on taking the relatively few chances you are going to get.”

Here are three takeaways:

Minnesota can’t convert on early opportunities

Kelvin Yeboah and Tani Oluwaseyi each had a scoring chance for MNUFC in the first half. In the fifth minute, Oluwaseyi’s shot near the penalty spot went just wide.

Yeboah then pounced on a Timothy Tillman giveaway in the 13th minute. His shot beat goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, but it went off the post and skidded in front of the net and wide.

Sang Bin Jeong, who subbed in for Oluwaseyi, and Yeboah each had scoring chances late in the game. Jeong’s shot in the 89th minute took a deflection and hit off the crossbar, while Yeboah’s went straight to Lloris’s arms. They weren’t enormous chances, with the expected goals analytic coming in under 1.0 for the game.

Ramsay told the team in the locker room they need to find that “killer instinct” going into the home opener against CF Montreal next Saturday.

Conflicting reports on why Rosales came off

Left wingback Joseph Rosales exited at halftime, a surprise because he was one of the Loons’ best players in 2024 and there were no glaring issues in the first 45 minutes. It remained unclear as to why he came out until Apple TV commentator Taylor Twellman said Anthony Markanich subbed in for tactical reasons.

Ramsay, however, said that was not the case.

“He’s just feeling something,” Ramsay said. “He’s had a couple of muscle concerns over the course of preseason. We wanted to make sure we didn’t, at this stage in the season, really push him to a limit that ends up costing him weeks and months. He was 50-50 about continuing on. A decision on his behalf, I also feel like in a situation like that when you feel like you are inevitably going to make a change in 10 or 15 minutes, you are better off making it at halftime.”

Ebobisse’s goal came in front of Markanich.

“There is possibly a slight fault there,” Ramsay said of Markanich. “He’s backed into the box without there being a real threat off his shoulder, so I feel like you would be nitpicking a little there because it’s a relatively low-quality chance from the edge of the box.”

The space did allow Ebobisse to pick his spot in the top corner past Dayne St. Clair.

Duggan settles in during first MLS start

With Jefferson Diaz suspended for his red card in the MLS Cup playoffs, Morris Duggan made his first MLS start after playing 49 minutes in the league a season ago.

“The week leading up, it was a little bit of nerves,” Duggan said postgame. “But once I stepped out there I felt really good. The guys next to me and in front of me gave me confidence. The coaches gave me confidence the whole preseason. I felt like I belonged there.”

Ramsay was impressed by the big 24-year-old German.

“I thought he had a really good 90 minutes overall,” the coach said. “Really composed, very strong in his one-v-one duels. He stepped in on the ball well. He made things happen. He was willing to take responsibility on the ball, which is a big thing.”

Perhaps Duggan’s best play was a diving intervention on LAFC teenage star Dennis Martinez right before halftime.

Duggan, who played 572 minutes on loan for Rhode Island in the USL Championship last season, might not usurp Diaz for the starting spot against Montreal, but he showed he can be a relied-upon backup next time his number is called.

Briefly

Forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith will head out to another club on loan, the Pioneer Press learned Saturday. It’s unclear where the 24-year-old is headed or for how long. … Captain Michael Boxall has now played for Minnesota in all nine of the club’s MLS seasons since 2017. He made his 213th regular-season appearances for MNUFC. … Joaquin Pereyra subbed out for Robin Lod in the 67th minute. Lod, an MLS All-Star, deserves time, but Pereyra continues to fall short of playing 90 minutes in any game since joining the Loons last summer.