Zlatan pleased to make Toronto his 500th goal Asia Cup: Pakistan beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
LOS ANGELES: Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic made history, scoring his 500th career goal in stunning fashion but it wasn't enough to lift the Los Angeles Galaxy to a win over Toronto FC.
The 36-year-old Ibrahimovic as always had a flair for the dramatic and he did just that Saturday in becoming the third active footballer to reach the milestone, joining Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The six-foot-five (1.95 metre) Ibrahimovic released a perfectly-timed roundhouse kick in the 43th minute that fooled goalkeeper Alex Bono for his 17th goal of the season.
The goal cut the deficit to 3-1 and sparked a three-goal Galaxy rally but the defending MLS champions would go on to win 5-3 in front of a crowd of 30,700 at BMO Field in Toronto.
"I am happy for Toronto because they will be remembered as my 500th victim," said Ibrahimovic.
Ibrahimovic came into Saturday's game tied for second in MLS scoring. "I was close to the goal. It reminds me of a goal I did in Ajax," he said.
"It came from a cross and I turned around and I hit it. I was just trying to hit the goal and it went in."
Ibrahimovic scored 62 of his goals for Sweden with the rest coming while playing for Malmo FF, Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris Saint-germain, Manchester United and now the Galaxy.
Jonathan Osorio's 75thminute go-ahead goal halted a three-goal Galaxy comeback and helped give Toronto some much needed points in their playoff push.
Jay Chapman added an insurance goal in stoppage time with a low shot to the corner.
"It is an incredible achievement," said Galaxy coach Dominic Kinnear of Ibrahimovic's goal. The guy is a great goal scorer and it is a memorable one for him for many reasons." DUBAI: Usman Khan took three wickets before opener Imam-ul-haq hit an unbeaten fifty as Pakistan notched up a dominating eight-wicket win over minnows Hong Kong in a group A match of the Asia Cup ODI tournament here on Sunday.
Electing to bat, Hong Kong folded for a paltry 116 in 37.1 overs, courtesy Usman's 3 for 19 and two-wicket hauls by Shadab Khan (2/31) and Hasan Ali (2/19).
Pakistan then returned to overhaul the target, scoring 120 for 2 in 23.4 overs, built mainly around opener Imam's 69-ball unbeaten 50 that was laced with three fours and a six.
Chasing 117 to win, Pakistan made a good start with Imam and Fakhar Zaman sharing a 41-run partnership in 8 overs for the opening wicket.
Pakistan lost their first wicket when Fakhar was caught by Mckechnie off Ehsan Khan's ball in the 9th over.
Imam and new man Babar then added 52 runs to take the team close to the target. Babar hit three fours and a six in his 36-ball 33 before being caught behind by Mckechnie for Ehsan's second wicket.