Last night the Chicago Fire fell victim to two goals set up by David Beckham and fell 2-1 defeat to the LA Galaxy at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California. The Fire nearly drew first blood in the waning minutes of the first half as Jalil Anibaba nearly headed home Paladini’s in-swinging corner kick in the 45th minute.
But the Galaxy broke the 0-0 deadlock in the 58th minute. On a free kick, Beckham sent a perfectly lofted ball that Landon Donovan rose to head home past a diving Sean Johnson at the back post to give the home side a 1-0 advantage.
Four minutes following the Galaxy goal Patrick Nyarko collected the ball at the top of the 18-yard box and found Cristian Nazarit charging into the Galaxy box. The Colombian forward met the ball and headed it past Josh Saunders to level the match at 1-1 in the 62nd minute.
The Galaxy regained the lead in the 65th minute, and again it was a Beckham set piece doing the damage. The former Manchester United midfielder sent a curling cross into the box on a corner kick from the left side. The well-struck ball bounced once before skidding past Johnson and into the side netting at the far post. When the referee blew the whistle and the hotly contested match finished 2-1, with three points going to the league-leading LA Galaxy.