LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL – The MLS is Back Tournament rolled on Monday night as the Portland Timbers defeated the LA Galaxy 2-1 at the ESPN Sports Complex in Disney World. Players in the bubble came ready to play.
As with most of the matches here in the tournament, teams kneeled before the game to show solidarity with the black lives matter movement.
LA had an amazing chance when a Dario Zuparic was blocked Cristian Pavon’s shot with his arm, giving the Galaxy an early penalty kick opportunity. Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez had the opportunity to score his first Goal with the Galaxy. His shot was blocked by Timbers Goalie Steve Clark who was right on the kick.
Portland managed to strike first when Jeremy Ebobisse tapped in a goal after a nice set up by Sebatian Blanco in the 59′.
In the 66′, Portland drew blood again when Blanco was on the move beating Emiliano Insua to a 50-50 ball, dribbled past Giancarlo Gonzalez and blasted a shot into the far-side of the net.
Into the second half, LA generated plenty of chances, including several acrobatic shots by“Chicharito”.
Things took a turn when Dario Zuparic was shown a second yellow card in the 75th minute, reducing the Timbers to 10 men. This opened things up for Chicharito and the Galaxy.
In the 88th minute, Chicharito scored his first La Galaxy goal as he rolled off a defender’s shoulder, he one-timed home a low Gordon Wild cross to put it in.
The Galaxy next face LAFC on Saturday, July 18 at 10:30 ET. The Timbers face Houston on Saturday July 18th at 8pm ET.
