The MLS All-Stars have accomplished some impressive feats in past years by defeating big club teams like Chelsea, Celtic, and Bayern Munich. However, on Wednesday night at Soldier Field in Chicago, the All-Stars only managed a 1-1 tie against one of the most popular teams in the world, Real Madrid from Spain.
The game was a bit tight, despite the fact that Real Madrid controlled most of it. Still, the All-Stars managed to only let Real Madrid score one goal in regular time. It was also a huge surprise when the All-Stars tied the game in the final minutes of the game via Dom Dwyer.
As for Real, their goal was scored by young striker Borja Mayoral.
Cristiano Ronaldo did not play
Real's main scorer did not play on Wednesday evening against the MLS All-Stars. Yes, Cristiano Ronaldo did not step onto the field, and, if he had, things might have been different. Ronaldo is the main scorer for Real Madrid and was not present for the event. Ronaldo was given an extended break by Real due to his participation with his national team Portugal at the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia in early July.
Still, Real is stacked with strikers, such as Gareth Bale from Wales and Karim Benzema from France, and managed 30 shots on the All-Stars. Unfortunately, only five were on target as the All-Stars did make a nice effort in defending against a tough team filled with a strong arsenal.
The MLS All-Stars
The players that represented the best from the MLS did their job to provide a fun game for fans of the sport and the league. It was a tough game, especially playing against a European giant like Real Madrid, but the All-Stars managed to get a well-deserved tie.
The goalkeepers were Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids) and Stefan Frei (Seattle Sounders).
The defenders included Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City), Belgian player Jelle Van Damme (LA Galaxy), Michael Parkhurst (Atlanta United), Johan Kappelhoff (Chicago Fire), Matt Hedges (FC Dallas), Hernan Grana (FC Dallas), Greg Garza (Atlanta United), and DaMarcus Beasley (Houston Dynamo).
The midfielders were made up of Argentine player Diego Valeri (Portland Timbers), German star Bastian Schweinsteiger (Chicago Fire), Argentine player Ignacio Piatti (Montreal Impact), Dax McCarty (Chicago Fire), Brazilian star Kaka (Orlando City Sc), Mexican player Giovani dos Santos (LA Galaxy), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Paraguayan star Miguel Almiron (Atlanta United), and Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas).
The forwards were Spaniard player David Villa (New York City FC), Nemanja Nikolic (Chicago Fire), Italian star Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC), Dom Dwyer (Orlando City SC), and Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC).
The MLS All-Stars fought hard and proved that they truly are the best in the league by playing a tough opponent like Real Madrid. However, the European giant prevailed with the victory by defeating the local team in penalties 4-2. In the end, MLS fans enjoyed a good show at Soldier Field and that was what mattered the most.
