MLS All-Star Game 2011: Manchester United Rolls To 4-0 Victory

Berbatov wanted to do his best to match Park’s brilliance and did. United, showing off the quality that is to be expected from a Premier League champions, knocked the ball around with ease. It was a beautiful sequence that led to Berbatov holding off a defender and chipping the keeper beautifully. Unfortunately, it bounced off the crossbar, but it came back to him, he chested the ball down and finished for the Red Devils’ third of the evening.

The final goal of the match didn’t quite belong, but it did symbolize the MLS team’s unfortunate evening. Welbeck was at distance and cut back to let a shot go that was always unlikely to beat the keeper. When it started going wide of the goal it was even more unlikely to score, but it deflected off of Geoff Cameron’s knee and in for the final goal of the match.

This is just an exhibition game so expect plenty of subs. The MLS team has 11 players on their bench and United has nine so there are plenty of options.

It should be at the very least a fun little match, and it’s also the perfect time for testing out a bit of a change in the way we report on matches live. We’re going to be conducting a bit of an experiment here at SB Nation Soccer by covering this game live using the aptly-named CoverItLive. Join us for... well, we don’t really know. We’ve never done this before.

Chicharito was expected to be one of the star attractions of the game, the second straight year Manchester United has played the MLS All-Stars. Chicharito had also been unable to play in previous friendlies United had played during their summer U.S. tour.

The game kicks off at 8:30 p.m. (eastern) and will be broadcast on ESPN2, Galavision and TSN). Tickets can be purchased here.

The NFL All-Star Game is easily the worst, as it is not even played by the same rules as the normal game. The NBA and NHL games are only theoretically played the same way, as each often devolves into fast-break contests with neither team putting in almost any effort defensively. The Major League Baseball carried some weight once upon a time, but interleague play has largely removed any real interest even if home-field advantage in the World Series is non-sensically on the line.

The MLS All-Star Game at least makes some attempt to give us something different. Since 2003, the league has decided to bring in a foreign club (with the exception of 2004) against whom the MLS All-Stars can test their mettle. Without a doubt, it is still very much an exhibition as the visiting team is almost always in their preseason and the MLS side has practiced together only sparingly. But it is at least a chance to see some of the league’s best players show their stuff against a team most casual followers of soccer have at least heard of.

As promised, Major League Soccer named six more players to their inactive All-Star roster on Monday. The players were determined by a vote of the players and will receive All-Star bonuses, per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, but won’t play in the game.

Keller will be with the Sounders to play San Francisco FC in Panama City on the Tuesday night before the All-Star game. He’ll then fly to Harrison, N.J., to join the All-Star squad the next night, likely as the team’s third keeper.

Keller was actually voted in as the squad’s starter in net. Of 250 shots faced this season, Keller has turned back all but 23, giving up 1.04 goals per game. Still, don’t expect him to see the field barring red cards or injuries.

Agudelo becomes the first Homegrown Player to make an MLS All-Star team. He has shown moments of brilliance this season, scoring four goals as well as working his way onto the United States national team.

Bravo is in the midst of his first MLS season after a decorated career in Mexico. He also has four goals and two assists this season.

The votes were compiled between June 8 and July 5. Besler received nearly three times as many text votes as the next closest player.

Although there is no guarantee that he will play against Manchester United at Red Bull Arena on July 27 - only 18 players will actually be on Manager Hans Backe’s game-day roster.

MLS First XI