Zlatan Ibrahimovic brace helps LA Galaxy defeat Real Salt Lake

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:29 am

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a pair of second-half goals to power a 3-0 victory for the LA Galaxy over Real Salt Lake on Saturday night.

It marked the first home win for the Galaxy over RSL since 2016. The Galaxy is unbeaten in four out of its last five games. Ibrahimovic now has seven goals on the season.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Salt Lake. RSL have produced just one win in eight road matches this season.

The Galaxy finally came to life on offense early in the second half behind the scoring prowess of Ibrahimovic. He opened up the floodgates for a Galaxy team that had been held in check by Salt Lake's defense throughout the first half.

A spectacular block by Justen Glad kept the Galaxy from getting on the board in the 56th minute. Ibrahimovic threatened a tap-in goal when he beat Nick Rimando on a challenge. Glad came to the rescue when he cut around Ola Kamara to get to the line. Once there, Glad booted the ball off the line to deny Ibrahimovic.

But the Swede wouldn't be denied for very long. Ibrahimovic put the Galaxy on the board in the 61st minute. Rimando tried to punch out a ball and it spun off his glove. The ball fell to Ibrahimovic and he headed it home.

Ibrahimovic extended the lead to 2-0 in the 67th minute. Servando Carrasco fed a long ball into him outside the top of the six-yard box and Ibrahimovic sent in a header for the second time.

Kamara added an insurance goal in the 76th minute. He blasted the ball between a pair of Salt Lake defenders and threaded it past the left side of Rimando.

Both teams produced a single shot on frame before half-time.