Things are going so well for the Los Angeles Football Club at the moment that the team seems to win even when it doesn’t.

Last month, a 3-0 cushion over the Costa Rican club L.D. Alajuelense held up against a 2-1 “defeat” in the second leg of CONCACAF Champions League play in L.A.

Alajuelense attempted to get back into what was ostensibly a 180-minute match when it moved ahead by a pair of goals. But Carlos Vela calmly settled the issue to ensure LAFC’s early advantage didn’t become a shocking waste.

“I think there is a lesson to be learned from that game,” said Steve Cherundolo, who was named MLS coach of the week following LAFC’s walkover against Austin on Saturday. “It’s that we are warned that things can go quickly in the wrong direction. So our players understand that and are taking this game and the opponent very seriously, as we always do out of respect for Vancouver. They have an objective. A clear objective and so do we. We are definitely ready.”

Two rounds into Champions League competition, pushed by the red-hot Denis Bouanga, who leads the tournament in goals and total shots, LAFC keeps putting itself in a comfortable position to advance — unless something goes terribly wrong at BMO Stadium.

Another stellar away result by the same 3-0 scoreline in the first leg of the quarterfinal last week at Vancouver has LAFC sitting similarly pretty.

After seven trips to Exposition Park, the Whitecaps have averaged a goal a game, with a high of two. That won’t be enough tonight, when it’s three (or more) or bust against a team that is one of the stingiest in MLS, and has three straight clean sheets coming into the contest.

Since entering MLS in 2018, the Black & Gold owns the best home record in league play for good reason. They are the only franchise with fewer than 10 regular season losses over that span.

Through 97 competitive matches on Christmas Tree Lane, including two postseason disappointments and a U.S. Open Cup setback, the most goals LAFC conceded in a match is three, going 2-2-4 in those instances.

The club has never lost by a three-goal margin in front of its supporters. Like the Costa Ricans, the Canadians must figure out how to do that.

Vancouver’s strength comes in playing direct and sending balls into the box toward a big set of attackers trying to body up center backs. If they’re on their game, the Whitecaps win balls out of the air or knock them down for a second line looking to capitalize.

“They’re going to have to throw numbers forward,” said LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead. “If that does happen I think it will benefit us greatly, so I just don’t see another game plan that they’ve really shown this year. That seems to be how they want to play, and in a game like this where they’re chasing that’s the only way really to play.

“We’ll make sure not to make the same mistakes. People have been rotated well. Everybody is ready to step up, so we’ll be ready to go.”