ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC RETURNED from injury in style Sunday, converting two penalties in the Los Angeles Galaxy’s 2-1 Major League Soccer victory over the Portland Timbers, while Wayne Rooney scored a goal to remember for DC United.
Exactly one year after the Swedish striker made his MLS debut for Los Angeles, he returned after missing two games with an Achilles tendon injury and made an immediate impact.
Denied by the post in the 14th minute, Ibrahimovic converted his first penalty in the 33rd, easily beating Timbers goalkeeper Jeff Attinella after drawing a foul in the penalty area against Timbers defender Claude Dielna.
Jeremy Ebobisse grabbed an equalizer in the 44th, but Ibrahimovic struck again in the second half.
Having beaten three defenders to reach the edge of the box, he was fouled by Attinella.
Wayne Rooney just did THIS 😳👏
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) March 31, 2019
https://t.co/sfzYoTYnTh
This time from the spot he lofted a perfectly timed “Panenka” spot-kick into the back of the net as Attinella moved to his left.
In the Eastern Conference, Rooney scored on a sensational free-kick to lift DC United to a 2-1 victory at Orlando City that put DC back atop the conference standings.
A free-kick from the former England star had set up DC’s opening goal, which was nodded in by Steve Birnbaum for his first of the season in the sixth minute.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic fools the goalkeeper and scores from the penalty spot.#ThisIsLA #MLZ @Ibra_official pic.twitter.com/c7POCQUIyK
— Sports Notes🎙 (@TheSportsNotes) April 1, 2019
Rooney doubled the score in the 30th, curling a free-kick from just yards (meters) away from the corner flag into the top corner past Orlando keeper Brian Rowe.
Orlando coach James O’Connor called for officials to review the goal for a potential foul on Rowe by DC defender Frederic Brillant, but VAR confirmed the goal.
Orlando were already irked that the free-kick was awarded at all since it was unclear if Dom Dwyer’s lunge at Rooney resulted in contact.
Orlando halved the deficit thanks to Dwyer’s 63rd-minute close-range header, but DC held them off to notch a first away win since May 19, 2018 — a streak that included 11 games and stretched back to before Rooney arrived at mid-season last year.
Dwyer’s goal was the first conceded by DC this season and energized the hosts, who pushed forward relentlessly in the final 30 minutes but couldn’t find an equaliser.
Additional reporting by Paul Fennessy
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