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Ali Adnan Panenka Flub: LA Galaxy get first road win of 2019 at Vancouver Whitecaps

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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (April 5, 2019) – The LA Galaxy are a star-driven team that has struggled defensively. They’ve relied on goals from their big players to get results this year. On Friday night, at Vancouver Whitecaps FC, they got performances on both sides of the ball.

Ali Adnan Panenka Flub: LA Galaxy get first road win of 2019 at Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0

In the opening minute, momentum appeared to swing in favor of the Caps. Left back Jorgen Skjelvik bumped a defender in the box and was called for a foul. Left back Ali Adnan stepped up the take the PK. The Iraq International has a reputation for being competent on dead balls.

He was not in this game. Adnan, possibly inspired by last weekend’s MLS action, tried to panenka goalkeeper David Bingham. He hit the ball poorly and the ball fell to the side of Bingham, who was able to roll on the ground to trap the ball against the turf and make the save.

The two sides traded chances throughout the second half with the Whitecaps arguably being the better side. Their next best chance came in the 19th minute. Skjelvik and Dave Romney miscommunicated, allowing Joaquín Ardáiz to shot right on goal. Bingham made the reaction save.

Los Angeles had their best chance just before halftime. Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a set piece shot deflected off a shoulder and out of play for a corner. The half ended 0-0.

After missing a golden opportunity to star the second half, Ibrahimovic got the Galaxy on the board in the 63rd minute. He got the ball out on the wing and sent a cross to the far post. Daniel Steres found some space and headed it into the back of the net.

Ibrahimovic put the game away eight minutes later. Rolf Feltscher sent the ball into the middle of the box with traffic. Ibrahimovic knocked the ball down, then half volleyed it past Maxime Crépeau. The match ended 2-0 with the Galaxy seeing the result out without much drama.

Three Takeaways:

Ibrahimovic on a roll: Zlatan has played in just three games this season and has recorded four goals and an assist. He was the focal point of the Galaxy offense tonight. Doneil Henry did a great job marking him 1v1, but he still got chances and made two of them count. His finish on the second goal was an exquisite finish.

Ali Adnan spoils a chance: The Whitecaps had some good looks in this game, but could not finish. They’ve scored just four goals in four games this season. Adnan could have altered the result for the better had he made a better attempt on the PK in the opening minute.

Galaxy defense survives Skjelvik: The Galaxy defense got their first clean sheet of 2019 in this game. It wasn’t pretty at times but it got the job done. Bingham was clutch in several key moments. The center back pairing of Romney and Steres was good enough. Despite several big mistakes by Skjelvik to allow shooting opportunities, they survived.

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