Major League Soccer which 2019-20 season kick-started just a couple of month ago is now gathering pace as teams jostle for the top position on the log table on both Eastern and Western Conferences. Los Angeles Galaxy, which has a certain ex-Manchester United star, Zlatan Ibrahimovic in her ranks, is one of such ambitious team in the Western Conference, while D.C United, which also has another ex-United striker, Wayne Rooney in her ranks too, is another, in the Eastern Conference.
NY RED BULLS 3-2 LA GALAXY:
LA Galaxy travelled to New York Red Bulls at the weekend, with the aim of getting the 3 maximum points and then displayed Los Angeles FC at the top of the log table but they were brought down to earth 2-3 by a struggling NY Red Bulls.
Boosted by the presence of the charismatic Swede star, 37-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic in their ranks, LA Galaxy are an inform team, unbeaten in the last 7 league matches, won 6 and drew 1, they are favoured to run riot over their less fancied NY Red Bulls, which on the other hand, have only managed a single win in their last 5 matches, drew 1 and lost 3. Ibrahimovic prowess in front of goal cannot be over exaggerated, he is a proven goal scorer all through his illustrious career from AC Milan to Barcelona to Manchester United, his current goal tally after just 10 matches shows his finesse in front of goal;
As expected, LA Galaxy took control of the possession right from the start, but it was the home side that took a shock lead in the 15th minute through defender, Amro Tarek. It took LA Galaxy some 24 minutes to get their equalizer, and it was Ibrahimovic who put teammates, Uviel Antuna through on goal, and he duly obliged. Just 4 minutes after the equaliser, LA Galaxy puts their noses in front, it was the provider that turned scorer this time, as Ibrahimovic nodded in his team's 2nd goal going into the break.
The home team won't lie down without a fight as they battled hard for their own equalizer, and they got it in the 59th minute through Marc Rzatkowski, who was left unmarked in the box and he duly punished LA Galaxy. 8 minutes later, Red Bulls regained the lead, substitute, Derrick Etienne, who came on for Tarek, his team's 1st goal scorer, scored from just inside the box. Red Bull held on for a hard-fought win over high flying LA Galaxy.
Despite the defeat, their 1st in 8 matches, LA Galaxy still sits in 2nd place on the log table with 22 points after 10 matches, and with a game at handoff leaders LAFC who still occupy the top spot with 24 points.
DC UNITED 3-1 COLUMBUS CREW SC:
Another ex-Manchester United player in the MLS is Wayne Rooney, his team DC United fared better at the weekend, recording a 3-1 home win over Columbus Crew, with Rooney among the scorers, with a well-taken spot-kick.
DC United are on a rollercoaster run with 2 wins, 2 losses, and a draw in 5 matched and desperately needed a run of wins to make top spot safe. Columbus Crew, on the other hand, are in poor form, they are on a 4-matches losing streak, with just 1 win the last 5 league matches, definitely needed a win to turn around the streak of bad results.
Rooney's goal-scoring ability has been crucial to DC United decent run so far in the season as shown by stats;
The home side took the lead but it was against the run of play as the visitors had asked the earlier questions. Columbus will feel hard done by the VAR, as 2 defining-VAR calls went against them. firstly, Columbus' goal in the 22nd minutes was chopped off after VAR review due to an apparent offside by Columbus player, and just 5 minutes after the disallowed goal, DC United went into the lead through Luciana Acosta. And then, in the stoppage time of the 1st half, DC United git their 2nd goal via VAR call, Wil Trapp of Columbus was judged to have handled the ball in the box, Wayne Rooney converted the spot-kick.
The 2nd half started with the visitors probing for a way back into the game but were hit with a further goal by the home team. Paul Arriola 61st-minute goal put the game beyond Columbus, though they pulled 1 back through an own goal, DC United's goalkeeper, Bill Hamidi fumbled the ball into his own net, to make the scoreline 3-1, it was too little, too late for Columbus.
DC United still sits on 2nd place on the log table and close by at the mid-table, 6th place is Columbus Crew, which are now on a 5-match-losing run.
ORLANDO CITY SC 0-2 TORONTO FC:
Another ex-Manchester United player who also plies his trade in the MLS is Nani, the Portuguese plays for Orlando City SC, and as his former teammates, he is in decent scoring form as shown below;
Unfortunately, Nani's team went down 0-2 at the weekend to visiting Toronto FC. 2 2nd-half goals from Jonathan Osorio in the 65th minute and Jay Chapman in the 77th minutes, condemned Orlando to defeat. Both teams had come into the game with a similar run of less admirable form, both won 2, drew 1 and lost 2 in their last 5 matches.
The defeat now pushes Orlando closer to the bottom of the Eastern Conference table on 10th place with just 12 points, but with a game at hand. Toronto now dits 4 on the log table but with 3 outstanding matches to play.
Thank you all for your time.
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