By COLE KELLOGG
The Montreal Impact were once again carried to three points on the back of world-class striker Didier Drogba on Saturday afternoon.
The Ivorian target man scored a seven-minute brace to lead the Impact to a 2-0 win at home against a falling D.C. United side. Drogba’s first strike was a free kick from distance, and he followed that up with a cheeky lofted finish just moments later.
With the win, the Impact sit in the sixth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Canadian side are four points ahead of seventh-place Orlando City SC and have two games in hand on the MLS newcomers.
Drogba wasted no time getting his team on the board at home on Saturday. The striker curled in a free kick from around 30 yards out to give his side the surprising early lead at Stade Saputo.
The big man was at it again in no time at all. In the 11th minute, a horrible back pass from a D.C. United midfielder gave Drogba the chance to run at goal with only a single defender to beat. He took the ball straight towards the box, beat his man with an incredible step over and floated the ball over goalkeeper Bill Hamid to put his side up, 2-0.
In six games, Drogba has now led the Impact to 14 points in a surge that has seen them virtually lock down their playoff position. With his brace, Drogba is up to seven goals in his brief time in Canada.
With the loss, United’s winless streak extends to five games.
D.C. United gets back to action next Friday night, hosting New York City FC as the sky blues continue to fight an uphill battle toward the playoffs. The Impact will travel to central Florida to face off against Orlando City, who will hope to keep their playoff hopes alive with a win.
Dirtier? More physical, I would say. He understands that MLS / Americans rely more on effort and physicality than on their limited skills, so he’s adapted well. Saputo deserves a lot of credit for finally opening his wallet on this superstar.
DROGBA! the man so great he ended a civil war single handedly.
Dirty? Like Diego Costa or dirty like break your ankles with a step over dirty?
Like throwing elbows into people throats. Picking fights all over the place.
I love the fact that Drogba is putting a real effort into his play here (as opposed to some others I won’t mention), but I’ve definitely seen more of the dirtier side to his play than I was expecting. This game wasn’t as bad as what he was doing to Larentowitz last week, but it was not clean by any means.
Well, he was at Chelsea.