Ibra hat-trick propels Galaxy to 7-2 win

LOS ANGELES: Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a hat-trick as Los Angeles Galaxy pummelled Sporting Kansas City 7-2 on Sunday to put themselves in the thick of the Major League Soccer playoff race.

After giving up an early goal to Sporting’s Felipe Gutierrez, the Galaxy stormed back to climb from eighth place and outside the MLS Cup playoff positions in the Western Conference and into fifth.

Former Sweden and Manchester United striker Ibrahimovic launched the comeback in the 32nd minute, after Los Angeles were awarded a penalty because of Matt Besler’s handball in the area.

Ibrahimovic’s effort from the spot was deflected by Tim Melia, but the Sporting goalkeeper couldn’t hang onto the ball and as he slid helplessly to the ground Ibrahimovic stepped forward to slot the ball into the net.

The floodgates opened for the Galaxy in the second half. After Joe Corona’s header made it 2-1, Ibrahimovic bagged his second, controlling a cross from Rolf Feltscher and beating Melia with a left-footed blast.

After a goal from Uriel Antuna and a brace from Sebastien Lletget, Ibrahimovic completed his third MLS hat-trick before Gutierrez rounded out the scoring with Sporting’s second.“We said at half-time we need to keep going,” said Ibrahimovic, who set a Galaxy club record with 26 goals for the season, surpassing the 24 scored by Carlos Ruiz in 2002. Ibrahimovic is now within two goals of Los Angeles FC’s Carlos Vela in pursuit of the MLS Golden Boot award. The goal-fest — it was the most goals scored in a match by the Galaxy since 1998 — came after an eight-match stretch in which they had only earned five points.

“The result says it was easy but it was not easy,” Ibrahimovic said. “The second half we were much stronger. When we had the opportunities we scored, that was the key thing.Reus plots Dortmund path past Barcelona: Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus insisted Monday that his team could beat Barcelona regardless of whether Lionel Messi plays or not, but feared however that Dortmund would ‘have to suffer’ when the two sides meet in the Champions League on Tuesday. Messi is a doubt for Tuesday’s game amid ongoing struggles with a calf injury, but Reus suggested Dortmund could win if they play to their own strengths instead of obsessing over the opponent.

“We have to concentrate on ourselves. We have a good team, we are at home, and we can win the game,” said Reus at a press conference on Monday.“It will of course be a tough game tomorrow, and we are going to have to suffer a lot,” he said. Tuesday’s Champions League opener is a baptism of fire for Dortmund as they look to qualify from a fiercely difficult group which pits them against Barcelona, Inter Milan and Slavia Prague.

Yet Reus said his side were confident they could make a perfect start by beating Barcelona on Tuesday. “It is important to start well in the group. We are confident enough to say that we can win the game,” he said.

Both sides come into the game on the back of impressive results against top-four rivals in their domestic leagues at the weekend, as Dortmund thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 4-0, and Barcelona beat Valencia 5-2.