MLS All-Stars defeated the Liga MX All-Stars: What it Means

Major League Soccer continued its effort to grow the world’s most popular sport in the United States on Wednesday, as the MLS All-Stars defeated the Liga MX All-Stars 3-2 in a penalty shootout at Banc Of California Stadium in Los Angeles.

FC Dallas forward Ricardo Pepi, who earlier in the day was called up to the United States men’s national team for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, scored the game-winning goal, as his shot sailed past Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman. 

Pepi, 18, has become one of MLS’ brightest young sport stars, and performance Wednesday night only served to remind the world of the incredible potential the Mexican-American possesses.

“Look, he’s a talented young goal scorer,” MLS All-Star manager Bob Bradley told ESPN. “He’s got great instincts. He’s got a lot of different ways to finish. He puts himself in really good positions, and he’s got a really good personality. He’s a fun kid who loves being around the goal, loves trying to score. So when we talked about penalties, he was he was ready.”

New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner continued his impressive summer, making two saves in the shootout. Turner, who was the United States’ primary goalie during the Gold Cup, allowed one goal throughout the tournament. 

The exhibition was not without incident, as the match had to be stopped in the 11th minute because of a homophobic chant emanating front the sold out crowd of 22,000. After 10 minutes and multiple messages on the stadium video board, play resumed.

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The current format, which pits the best that MLS has to offer against the Liga MX All-Stars, was well received, and should undoubtedly be the standard moving forward. Past iterations of the annual exhibition saw the MLS All-Stars take on a foreign club, such as Real Madrid and Juventus. The games often fell flat, and the regional rivalry between the US and Mexican national teams added an additional layer of intrigue to to Wednesday’s match.

“There’s going to be a little bit of a bite,” Nashville SC defender Walker Zimmerman told ESPN. “Guys that are in form, in season, instead of coming over for preseason. There’s going to be pride on the line and it’s only going to be heightened from the last couple of months.”

Walker is referring to the resurgence of the USMNT, who twice defeated Mexico to win major tournaments (Nations League, Gold Cup) this summer.