Zlatan caps off MLS debut with brilliant goals

Zlatan Ibrahimovich showed his mettle in his MLS debut as his two goals –including a 40-yard volley in an entertaining game, helped LA Galaxy to a 4-3 victory against Los Angeles FC.

He scored with the imperious volley only six minutes after coming on as a substitute before an injury-time header to seal victory for the MLS outfit in his debut game.

The script of the match was befitting of Ibra’s new Hollywood home and LAFC had raced to a 3-0 lead within 60 minutes with Zlatan still on the bench. Some slack play from LAFC had allowed Galaxy to pull one goal back before the crowd roared in appreciation as Ibra made his entrance.

The Swede made an immediate impact, drawing defenders away and allowing Chris Pontius space to score from a header to make the score 3-2.

"If you look back, every team I came to, the first official game I scored. I said I would not let it down today, I will score also today," Ibrahimovic said. "I was just waiting to come in because when you’re losing 3-0 the adrenaline is pumping even more because you want to be able to do something, help the team, especially when they’re in a difficult situation. I just wanted to come in.

"The fans were demanding Zlatan, and I gave them Zlatan."

Zlatan’s 40-yard strike made it 3-3 as the crowd erupted in joy. It was a fairy-tale strike and teammate Perry Kitchen remarked: "My original thought was: ‘He’s not shooting this. Is he really going to shoot this?’"

"I felt like I played 40 games for my 20 minutes," Ibrahimovic said. "I was feeling everything, jet leg, I didn’t play for a long time. I did the first sprint and I started to breath immediately, so when the second came I said 'this time I shoot, I don’t run with the ball.' That’s the ball that went in."