LA Galaxy Forward Zlatan Ibrahimović Voted MLS Player of the Week
NEW YORK
(Monday, September 16, 2019)
– LA Galaxy forward Zlatan Ibrahimović was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Week for the 28
th
week of the 2019 MLS season.
Ibrahimović recorded a hat trick in the Galaxy’s dominant 7-2 home victory over Sporting Kansas City on Sunday, the third of his MLS career and second this season, while breaking a club record for goals in a season. The Swede has 26 goals, second-most in MLS, to go along with four assists this season. Ibrahimović needs six goals over the Galaxy’s remaining four matches to break the MLS single-season goalscoring record. LA sits fifth in the Western Conference with 44 points (14-13-3 overall record).
After falling behind early in a crucial matchup with postseason implications, Ibrahimović pulled the Galaxy even in the 32
nd
minute. Ibrahimović’s attempted penalty kick was saved by a diving stop from SKC goalkeeper Tim Melia, only for Ibrahimović to collect the loose ball in front of goal and finish with a right-footed strike (
watch goal
).
The Galaxy took a 3-1 lead in the 51
st
minute on a brilliant display of touch in the box by Ibrahimović who deflected an inbound pass to himself and fired off a left-footed shot in between two defenders (
watch goal
). Ibrahimović completed his hat trick in the 85
th
minute to give LA a 7-1 lead when collecting an Efraín Álvarez pass and firing a left-footed shot into the right side of goal (
watch goal
).
The LA Galaxy next host the Montreal Impact on Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park (10:30 p.m. ET, TVAS / ESPN+).
The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while a Twitter fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
