Barcelona 2 LA Galaxy 1

93,000 fans turned out at the Rose Bowl in Pasedena proving that despite the best efforts of the MLS to ruin the game of football (soccer if you must) in the US, it can still draw tremendous public support. With such stars as Donovan, Beckham, Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Rafael Marquez, Dani Alves and Xavi Hernandez on show, this was a rare opportunity...
Barcelona took only 11 minutes to establish a lead when Pedro Rodriguez took advantage of a Messi rebound off the back of Galaxy defender DeLaGarza. Barcelona showed their class and had control of most of the play but equilibrium returned a minute from the break when Beckham sent a 25 yard free kick sailing into the back of the net taking Galaxy into the half-time break on level terms.
Beckham was booed pretty much every time he got the ball, but this is not a new experience for the star, and he is not naive enough to believe a goal will silence all the critics. He has played solidly since returning to the Galaxy. If his solid performances on the pitch have made no difference to the element of supporters who prefer to voice their malcontent than show support for their team, then a goal will probably not change their mind.
Twenty minutes into the second half, Suarez, one of the multitude of Barcelona substitues buried the ball in the net for the second and Barca goal of the match. Beckham stayed on the pitch up to the 87th minute before making way for Mike Magee. Maybe Bruce Arena wanted to give the loyal fans chance to clap Beckham off the pitch.
Let's hope Beckham can add to his tally soon and leave the boo boys with less to shout about - you can't continue to boo someone who is not only putting in a performance but scoring goals for you against Barcelona....