It was another dominant night for Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Once, again, it was Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the rescue for the LA Galaxy.
The latest victim on Sunday night was Sporting Kansas City. Ibrahimovic scored his 24th, 25th and 26th goals of the season, shattering the franchise’s single-season record, and his performance, along with Sebastian Lletget’s brace, was key in getting the Galaxy’s playoff chances back on track with a 7-2 rout of Kansas City at Dignity Health Sports Park.
“I think I am the best ever to play in MLS. And that, without joking,” said a modest Ibrahimovic after the game.
The Galaxy needed another stout performance from Ibrahimovic, who entered Sunday night’s match in a precarious spot. After spending most of the season above the playoff line, the Galaxy came into Sunday’s match below the line, one point behind FC Dallas for the seventh and final playoff spot in the West. After Sunday’s rout, the Galaxy (14-13-3, 45 points) now sit in fifth place in the conference with four matches to play.
“I hope to keep going like today, and for sure we will win more points to get to playoffs. We need to go game by game. We can think about how many points we need to get to the playoffs. We need to rest tomorrow, practice during the week to win the next game with Montreal.”
Trailing 1-0 heading into the 31st minute, the Galaxy caught a break. Diego Polenta sprung Uriel Antuna into the penalty area, SKC defender Matt Besler chased the play from behind and Antuna played a ball in the air, but went off Besler’s left hand area, Antuna pleaded for the penalty and referee Ted Unkel agreed, signaling for the penalty spot. Ibrahimovic stepped up the penalty spot, his shot was actually stopped by keeper Tim Melia, but Melia left a rebound chance for Ibrahimovic, which he guided into the back net for the equalizer.
The Galaxy then blew the game open in the second half. After Joe Corona gave the Galaxy the lead in the 48th minute, Ibrahimovic added his second goal of the match three minutes later, as he brought down a cross from Rolf Feltscher, took a few touches to evade defenders and took a shot that tucked in past Melia at the near post to double the Galaxy lead. Antuna tripled the lead, then Lletget took over the match, as he scored his two goals inside a two-minute span to pretty much seal the three points. Still, it’s not a Galaxy win until Ibrahimovic puts his stamp on the match, which he did in the 85th minute, as he took a pass from Efrain Alvarez, took a touch that got himself inside the penalty area and fired a left-footed volley that beat Melia far post, and in typical Ibrahimovic fashion, ran over and jumped on top of the field-level jumbotron and raised his hands in the air.
“I said from the first day I came that I’m not here for vacation, I’m here to perform and show everybody what the game is about,” Ibrahimovic said. “I think the two years I’ve had here, I’ve done good things. Amazing things. Perfect things. I just have to keep doing, keep being in shape and help my team in the best way, and that is by scoring goals.”
The Galaxy look to keep the momentum going on Saturday when host the Montreal Impact.
