In the 40th minute of play at Stade Saputo in Montreal, the most popular man on the field wasn’t in an Impact shirt, nor was it the towering force that was Zlatan Ibrahimovic of the LA Galaxy. Instead, it was referee Ismail Elfath, who pulled a red card from his shirt pocket to expulse the game’s star attraction. With help from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system.
However, the Impact’s attacking woes doomed them in the end as they failed to score in a 1-0 loss to the 10-man Los Angeles Galaxy on Victoria Day Monday. Ola Kamara scored the winner in the 76th minute, using his speed to bypass the Impact defense before slotting the goal past Evan Bush.
“We were clumsy sometimes,” Impact manager Remi Garde said after the match. “We were not organized enough and not enough desire to score a goal,”
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“Coming out of the second half, we’re looking for goals,” Montreal Impact defender Michael Petrasso said. “We didn’t capitalize on any of our chances which was disappointing. The longer the game goes on, [LA] was going to get one or two chances. It’s football, and they took theirs.”
A sell out crowd was on hand for the Impact’s 25th anniversary of their first-ever home game, a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the American Professional Soccer League in May of 1993. But a number of fans were in attendance to see Zlatan Ibrahimovic, of course. The Swede has taken Major League Soccer by storm since joining the team in March, scoring three goals in his first eight matches.
The match took a turn near the end of the first half when Ibrahimovic was sent off after a confrontation with Petrasso. The defender stepped on Ibrahimovic’s foot, which prompted the striker to smack Petrasso in the back of the head. As Petrasso fell down, Ibrahimovic also fell down, causing the Impact fans to jeer the Swedish international.
After Video Review, Zlatan Ibrahimovic receives a red card for violent conduct. #MTLvLA https://t.co/qF8UcCZYuy
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 21, 2018
Elfath, the referee, didn’t spot the infraction at first, but soon called for VAR after the big screen behind the Montreal Impact ultras displayed Ibrahimovic’s mischievous deed. The 20,000 plus fans erupted in the stadium when Elfath eventually showed Ibrahimovic a red card. Petrasso was also given a yellow card for his role in the incident.
“I was just focusing on the ball and then I accidentally stepped on his toes,” Petrasso said. “I would say that was a benefit for us coming into the second half which we didn’t capitalize on, which we’re all disappointed about.”
Montreal Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush was less than impressed with Ibrahimovic’s reaction.
“Maybe if he was playing in Manchester still, and an opposing guy stepped on his foot he would’ve reacted differently because he would’ve sensed that the moment was different,” Bush said. “But, here, I think that guys come in this league with the pedigree that he has and they think that should be treated differently.”
The Swedish forward had a free kick attempt in the first half that went off the defensive wall and out for a corner in the 20th minute, but otherwise he had no shots on target during the 40 minutes he spent on the field. Despite the man advantage, Montreal’s attack beared no fruit. Montreal spent more time in their opponent’s attacking third and had more shots on net, but couldn’t beat Galaxy keeper David Bingham.
After an Anthony Jackson-Hamel goal was ruled offside, Galaxy forward Ola Kamara came down the wing, entered the box, and slotted home the eventual match-winner past Montreal Impact goaltender Evan Bush.
The breakthrough! @OlaKamara strikes for @LAGalaxy.#MTLvLA#IMFC25 https://t.co/XGrnCIdEx7
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 21, 2018
Kamara started the game at left wing, but took over for Ibrahimovic as the lone striker up top once his teammate was sent off.
“I love scoring, man,” Kamara said. “When Zlatan got the red card, I played on top and I was able to get the match-winning goal. It was a great feeling for me,”
The Galaxy had been dealing with struggles of their own, losing their last four games prior to Monday.
“We really needed that,” Kamara said.
The Impact aren’t too sympathetic to Los Angeles’ struggles as they’re still trying to deal with their own. Monday’s result now means the Impact have failed to score in three straight games. Montreal also has just one win in their last eight matches.
Garde admitted injuries affected some of his roster decisions, including why Jackson-Hamel wasn’t in the starting lineup. He hadn’t trained much in the last few days leading up to Monday’s contest. The Impact were limited in their options for centre back as well, leaving Garde to start right back Jukka Raitala and defensive midfielder Marco Donadel at centre back.
“We have a lot of injuries,” Raitala said. “There’s no other solution than to just go on the field and help the team.
The Montreal Impact next play a road game against Minnesota United on Saturday, May 26.