Playing in front of a sold-out crowd of 72,317, Josef Martinez proved once again that he can score against any team in the world.
The Atlanta United forward did just that, scoring the lone goal for the MLS All-Stars against Juventus to earn SBI MLS All-Star Man of the Match honors.
The wild goal began when fellow ATLUTD star Miguel Almiron found Josef Martinez near the far post of Juventus’ goal. Martinez unselfishly chose to pass back to Carlos Vela at the penalty spot who fired a shot on goal. After Juventus keeper Wojciech Szczęsny batted Vela’s shot away, MLS All-Star Nacho Piatti sent the ball back across goal to Josef once again, who this time used his head to put the ball into the back of the net.
With his 26th minute goal, Martinez became the first MLS All-Star to score in front of his home crowd since Brian Ching in Houston in 2010.
MLS All-Star goalkeeper Zack Steffen and Juventus forward Andrea Favilli also put in strong performances on the night.
What did you think of Martinez’s efforts? Which MLS player stood out to you?
Share your thoughts below.
I found the game a tad boring and was wondering who many of these “stars” even were???
Yeah, there was a serious issue of ballot stuffing this year – even more so than usual.
I don’t mean to belittle a guy who has produced at the ridiculous clip that Martinez has over 2 seasons…. but I feel like he’d be a fool to be anywhere but Atlanta right now. He’s the perfect finisher for them. But I don’t know where else he could possibly fit in as well…. Stay put, sez I!