The goals for Manchester United were good goals, especially the first two. Berbatov had to rely on a bit of luck for the third and the fourth came courtesy of a deflection. Although Manchester United didn't dominate the first half, they certainly did the second, even after a number of their best players left the pitch around the sixty minute mark. Rooney, Anderson, and Park looked the best players out there in the first half, with the only player worthy of remark for MLS was David Beckham, for his wonderful distribution.
The game served to highlight just how far behind world class football the MLS really is. When Tim Ream, a player benched by the US National team during the Gold Cup for his lousy play against teams like Panama and Grenada, gets the start at center-back, you know things are bad. Don't get me wrong, Ream performs extremely well in MLS, but the fact that he is the best central defender in the league is a sad testament to the league's talent.
Juan Agudelo had a nice cameo off the bench, looking somewhat dangerous, which does say something about his potential to be a dangerous forward for the USMNT for a long time to come, but he's still young, and anything could happen. Shalrie Joseph, Kyle Beckerman and Brad Davis were the only other players who stood out at all for the MLS All-Stars.
It was a long night for the MLS players, but the experience of playing against Manchester United is one which will not soon be forgotten. It was a wonderful opportunity, but unfortunately left the MLS fans disillusioned and disappointed. It was particularly disappointing to see so many Americans in the crowd cheering for Manchester United. Even if the MLS All-Stars had been playing against Liverpool or Barcelona, I would have been rooting for them to score goals and play good soccer, even to win!
I'll have a post for everyone after my trip to the rematch of the Champions League Final between Barcelona and Manchester United this weekend.
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