LOS ANGELES (Monday, July 22, 2019) – LA Galaxy forward Zlatan Ibrahimović was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Week for the 20thweek of the 2019 MLS season.
The Galaxy defeated LAFC 3-2 at Dignity Health Sports Park on Friday behind an Ibrahimović hat trick. Zlatan has tallied 16 goals, tied for second most in the league, and three assists this season. LA sits second in the Western Conference with 37 points (12-8-1 overall record).
After LAFC took an early lead, Ibrahimović brought the Galaxy even at 1-1 in the eighth minute. Ibrahimović collected Julian Araujo’s downfield pass with his chest, flicked the ball over a defender and finished the play with a left-footed shot from outside the box (watch goal).
The Swede gave the Galaxy a 2-1 lead in the 56th minute when he elevated above an LAFC defender for a Diego Polenta cross, finishing with a header (watch goal). Ibrahimović completed his hat trick to give the Galaxy a 3-1 advantage in the 70th minute when firing a shot from outside the box to the right side of goal (watch goal).
The LA Galaxy host Club Tijuana in the first ever Leagues Cup on Tuesday (8 p.m. PT, ESPN / TUDN / TSN1 / TSN4), before returning to regular season action when facing the Portland Timbers at Providence Park on Saturday (7:30 p.m. PT, FS1 / FOX Deportes / FOX Sports GO / TSN4).
The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while a Twitter fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
