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Late Johnson goal gives MLS All-Stars victory over Chelsea

MLS All-Stars (AP)

CHESTER, Pa. — It may have come in part because of a fortuitous deflection, but the MLS All-Stars pulled out a win for the first time in four years.

With penalty kicks looming, the MLS All-Stars grabbed a 3-2 victory over UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea thanks to a stoppage time finish from substitute Eddie Johnson. The Seattle Sounders forward took a shot that deflected off a defender in the 91st minute and it took a kind bounce before rolling into the back of the net to give the MLS All-Stars their first win in an All-Star game since 2008.

The goal capped a back-and-forth game played in front of a record crowd at PPL Park that saw both teams take leads before surrendering them. The MLS All-Stars had pulled level at 2-2 off a finish from Chris Pontius, but that came after Chelsea had taken a lead earlier in the second half due to Frank Lampard's simple finish in the 59th minute.

Lampard had also assisted on Chelsea's first tally, hitting a corner kick that captain John Terry headed past starting MLS All-Stars goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen in the 32nd minute. Terry's goal had negated the MLS All-Stars' opener, which came 11 minutes prior courtesy of red-hot Chris Wondolowski.

The San Jose Earthquakes forward put the home team out on top the match up top after a cross from the left from New York Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry, who was played in on the flank by Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan.

What do you think of the MLS All-Stars' 3-2 win over Chelsea? Who was your Man of the Match? Which players impressed you from both teams?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. ditto. henry, beckham, donovan, DeRo, and more (they came to mind but i am not scouring the roster from a previous post- probably our keeper) could all play in top half teams, even in EPL and especially in the rest of europe. the rest of the players like wondo, pontious, etc would me mid table teams no problem, fulham, everton even.

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  2. A US team with a couple of days of practice defeats the European champs just weeks off of their title and 2 previous matches under their belt.

    Suck it Euro-snobs!

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  3. Jay D is no on the ball wizard.

    But neither is Carles Puyol (who it must be said is a much better all around player than Jay) and it doesn’t seem to hurt Barca and Spain that much.

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  4. Chelsea only started with first team defense and what will probably be the first team pivot for the season. No one in the attack aside from Ramires will be a starter.

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  5. Really? Irrelevant? European teams don’t look at guys who create goals? Dempsey’s value isn’t based on how many goals he scored in the past three years?

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  6. People can change. He will. The honeymoon in Seattle will end. The fans will turn. Management will turn. It will end ugly.

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  7. 100% agreed – I’m probably one of those Euro snobs and watch tons of soccer around the world. This MLS all star team would be an above mid-table EPL team. An average MLS team would probably be bottom table or Championship level.

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  8. Don’t forget the pass from Beckerman to EJ that won it. First time ball from the half cutting through the entire Chelsea defense. No one is talking about it but it was brilliant.

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  9. it was a hand ball, anyone who says otherwise isn’t being real. quoting the “ball-to-hand” rule is BS. that rule does not apply when the defender is inside the box with their hands out (they were not tucked in or behind his back). intentional? no. but it’s still a handball in the box.

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  10. i kind of was thinking the same thing. no one wanted to even hold it. literally, DeRo couldn’t pass it off. everyone rejected holding it.

    keep the trophy, but don’t present as if you just won the league. it was awkward. i’m just glad DeRo brought everyone back down to earth with his comments. i think the players were a little embarrassed to be in a ceremony that seemed like they won a league.

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  11. no. yes, he scored, but until that point, he hadn’t done anything. but more importantly, i just think we need to give him a season for him to continue building himself back up. no need to bring him in yet. in January, sure, why not?

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  12. agreed. the allocation order is not what built this league. be serious Garber. it would have been better for him to admit they should look into it now that the league is more attractive to Americans wanting to come home.

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  13. Correction… it took SOME of the best MLS had to offer to beat the UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WINNER and the TEAM THAT KNOCKED BARCELONA out of that competition.

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  14. im not going to comment on NE MAtt’s statement, but you are not being fair. Chelsea is pre-season but the MLS All Stars had a week to play together. you act like Chelsea forgot how to play and didn’t have 10 subs to use to avoid fatigue.

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  15. I’m confused why all the MLS haters are citing the excuse “well what do you expect from a preseason team?” Maybe theyre in preseason, but a good core of them have been playing together for years. MLS All-Stars had 2 days of prep. If I had to pick a team that has been together for years but is in preseason vs. a team that has never played together inseason, I’d take the rpeseason team every time.

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  16. Umm yes they would have. Soccer teams love trophies. You think there is a cabinet space shortage? Chelsea take their freaking Carling Cup trophy on the road to display it. They would have put this on a shel somewhere as another notch on their belt.

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  17. WTF get over your inferiority complex, EVERY All Star game has a trophy. Even crappy ones like the Pro Bowl. Go tell MLB and NBA to get rid of their trophies, then we’ll consider it.

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