Typical of the man
Zlatan Ibrahimovic turns 37 years old next month. He may well be in the twilight of a playing career that’s seen him play for some of the biggest clubs in world football, but even now, he’s capable of moments of utter brilliance.
We were reminded of this in small hours of Sunday morning as the former Swedish international brought up his 500th career goal in spectacular fashion during LA Galaxy’s game with Toronto.
Escaping the attention of his marker, the former Manchester United striker volleyed home Jonathan Santos’ chipped pass with a roundhouse kick.
Zlatan's 500th career goal is RIDICULOUS. 🔥#TORvLA #Zlatan500 https://t.co/gosg571udB
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 16, 2018
Prior to this, Toronto had built up a 3-0 lead at BMO Field. Ibrahimovic’s goal, which came minutes before half-time, sparked what had seemed to be a Galaxy comeback, with goals from Ola Kamara and Rolf Fletscher drawing them level in the second half. However, it wasn’t to be for the Californian side, who shipped two more goals in the final 15 minutes to lose the game 5-3.
Despite the defeat, Ibrahimovic seemed pleased to have reached the milestone, marking the occasion with the following tweet.
500 pic.twitter.com/EObuJwoaMA
— Zlatan Ibrahimović (@Ibra_official) September 16, 2018
“Obviously it’s not good to lose… but I’m happy for Toronto because they’ll be remembered as my 500th victim,” Ibrahimovic told TSN after the game.
Having completed a move to Major League Soccer from Manchester United in March, he marked his debut with a two goals in the Los Angeles derby – the first of which was a spectacular 40-yard volley.
He and his teammates return to action on Monday night when they welcome Seattle Sounders to the Stubhub Center. They’ll play Canadian opposition for the second time in eight days when they take on Vancouver Whitecaps at home next Sunday.
