The Philadelphia Union could not take advantage of almost 40 minutes of playing a man up against the Los Angeles Galaxy and fell 1-0.
David Beckham's 33rd minute freekick met the head of Galaxy center defender Leonardo. The Brazilian was left unmarked in the center of the box and slotted the ball home along the left side post. It was his first ever Major League Soccer goal. Beckham has a history with freekicks and the Union's goalkeeper, Faryd Mondrargon. The former English international midfielder scored one of his first ever international freekicks versus Mondragon in the 1998 World Cup (England v Colombia) group stage.
The Union were given a chance when Galaxy defender Chris Birchall was shown a red card in the 53rd minute but the game descended into chaos, rather than victory for the Union. For the rest of the game the Union failed to muster any offensive threat against the Galaxy. Striker Jack McInerney received a red card after he retaliated following a studs up challenge from Galaxy striker Chad Barrett.
PPL Park will host the New York Red Bulls on April 9th.