Ahead of a rivalry game against Los Angeles FC, LA Galaxy superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic declared himself to be the best player in MLS, and downplayed the success of LAFC’s Carlos Vela, the league’s leading scorer. on Friday night in Carson, Zlatan backed up his claims, scoring a hat trick to give the Galaxy a signature win over the top team in the Western Conference.
Ibrahimovic’s first goal was his finest. After the Galaxy conceded an early penalty to Vela, the 37-year-old equalized the game in the 8th minute, shedding a defender with a sublime flick to set up a half-volley finish.
Ibrahimovic gave the Galaxy the lead in the second half with a towering header past goalkeeper Tyler Miller.
Zlatan completed his hat trick in the 70th, rifling a shot from outside the box past Miller and inside the post.
Vela scored a second goal for LAFC in the seventh minute of stoppage time, but the Galaxy held on to claim all three points. After the game, Ibrahimovic said he should never be compared to Vela again.
Via ESPN:
“Please do not offend me, I don’t need to prove nothing, even if I don’t score the goals today.
I have a lot of respect for Vela, he’s a good player, but you did one mistake, you compared him with me, that was your biggest mistake.”
