Apparently all of Eddie Johnson's time in England, where he studied Chelsea from the Fulham bench (when he made it) gave him great insight into the Blues and how to beat them. Either that or he got a luck deflection off of the foot of David Luiz to find the net in the 91st minute and lead the MLS All-Stars past Chelsea, 3-2.
Chelsea Vs. MLS, 2012 All-Star Game: Eddie Johnson’s 91st-Minute Goal Wins It
Johnson came on as a substitute, but didn’t make much of an impact right away. But with the match in stoppage time and presumably destined for penalty kicks* he was able to find some space to run at the Chelsea defense. Luiz stepped up and didn’t leave him with many options so Johnson let rip. His shot then took a deflection and left the goalkeeper helpless as he went the wrong direction. The ball bounced high in the air then came down and settled in the back of the net, delivering the All-Stars a vital win that comes with a bunch of half-hearted high fives.
* They use penalties! proof that the match is important!
The goal by Johnson capped a comeback for MLS. After going in front early through Chris Wondolowski, Chelsea came roaring back and looked like the much better side. John Terry beat Aurelien Collin on a corner kick and beat Jimmy Nielsen with a good header to level. Then, in the second half, Frank Lampard was left all alone at the far post to finish Ramires' cross for the Chelsea lead.
The two Chelsea goals were supposed to be it for the All-Stars, but then David Beckham hit a great long ball over the top to Dwayne De Rosario. That ball sent the Chelsea defense scurrying back and left them out of sorts so, when De Rosario latched on to it, there was plenty of space in the box. Chris Pontius eventually ran into that space and De Rosario fed his D.C. United teammate for a simple finish that leveled the match.
That set the stage for Johnson. The once hot shot and then abandoned and unwanted striker continued his comeback from the abyss with the match-winner and MLS took home a win at PPL Park from the UEFA Champions League winners.
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