MLS All-Stars suffer crushing loss in penalties

Spanish giants Real Madrid took down the MLS All-Stars in penalties on Wednesday night, for some reason. The score was even at one when the whistle blew to signal the end of regulation, but instead of returning to their locker rooms, the players remained on the field. A penalty shootout soon ensued, and Real Madrid took care of it without much trouble.

Since the All-Stars failed to convert either of their first two penalties, Marcelo was able to put the game to bed in the fourth round of spot kicks. On the field, one of Marcelo’s teammates slowly made his way over to celebrate with the game-winner, who himself was hardly celebrating. In the stands, the thousands of Real Madrid fans were happy to see their team come out on top, though they quickly made their way to the exits.

It was Dom Dwyer’s 87th-minute goal that cruelly sent the game into penalties. The new Orlando City SC man cleaned up a corner in the box, finishing off Dax McCarty’s header—who let Dax McCarty’s head touch a soccer ball?—which had hit off the post moments earlier.

Young forward Borja Mayoral scored what long looked like the winning goal in the 59th minute. Seizing on Hernan Grana’s outright refusal to mark him, Mayoral slipped behind the back line with ease. As he sent a shot to the far post, FC Dallas’s Matt Hedges slid in in an attempt to block the shot, but he merely clipped it in a way that left Stefan Frei helpless in net. The goal was a long time coming for Real, who had fired off more than 20 shots before they lit up the scoreboard.

From a Union perspective, the game was a success: since none of their players were participating, none of them could suffer a serious injury. The same could not be said for Atlanta United and Greg Garza, as the left back had to leave the game in the seventh minute with a separated shoulder.

Lineups:

MLS All-Stars: Tim Howard (Stefan Frei 45’); Greg Garza (DaMarcus Beasley 7’), Jelle Van Damme (Michael Parkhurst 45’), Johan Kappelhof (Matt Hedges 45’), Graham Zusi (Hernan Grana 45’); Bastian Schweinsteiger (Dax McCarty 45’), Michael Bradley (Diego Valeri 45’), Kaka (Miguel Almiron 45’); David Villa (Dom Dwyer 45’), Jozy Altidore (Ignacio Piatti 31’), Sebastian Giovinco (Nemanja Nikolic 45’)

Real Madrid: Keylor Navas (Ruben Yañez 45’, Luca Zidane 72’); Theo Hernandez, Sergio Ramos (Jesus Vallejo 45’), Nacho (Alvaro Tejero 72’), Achraf Hakimi (Dani Carvajal 61’); Isco (Marcelo 61’), Toni Kroos (Dani Ceballos 45’), Marcos Llorente (Casemiro 61’); Marco Asensio (Gareth Bale 61’), Borja Mayoral (Karim Benzema 61’), Lucas Vasquez (Oscar 72’)