{"id":1102373,"date":"2019-08-20T09:25:35","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T08:25:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1102373"},"modified":"2019-08-20T09:25:35","modified_gmt":"2019-08-20T08:25:35","slug":"mls-week-24-ibrahimovic-rooney-playoffs-eastern-western-conference","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-week-24-ibrahimovic-rooney-playoffs-eastern-western-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"MLS week 24: Ibrahimovic reaches half-century milestone and Rooney’s rant sours DC United legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Red cards galore, a Wayne Rooney outburst and fluctuations at the top of the\u00a0Eastern Conference \u2013 week 24 in MLS was a fiery one.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Things in the East continue to tighten up with just 12 points now separating 10th-placed\u00a0Chicago Fire and the leading duo of Atlanta United and\u00a0Philadelphia Union, while LAFC continue their stronghold on the\u00a0Western Conference, though with just five points between Minnesota United in second and FC Dallas in eighth, pulses continue to race among the chasing pack.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/audioboom.com\/posts\/7343141-chelsea-can-get-excited-about-n-golo-kante-s-messi-impression<\/p>\n

We edge ever close to determining who will make the play-off spots, but what might you have missed from week 24 across the Atlantic?<\/p>\n

1. The\u00a0half-century Swede<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Never one to shy away from the spotlight,\u00a0Zlatan Ibrahimovic appears to make more headlines across the pond than a baker makes bread, and this week was no exception, with the Sweden legend now having a hand in 50 goals for\u00a0LA Galaxy since pitching up in\u00a0California last year.<\/p>\n

The seasoned striker netted four goals in as many days last week to bring up a half century of direct contributions, including 40 goals and 10 assists, meaning this self-proclaimed “Ferrari among Fiats” has now been directly involved in his side scoring every 79 minutes since his debut.<\/p>\n

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READ MORE:<\/span> Zlatan Ibrahimovic: The face of MLS or a dinosaur figurehead threatening its evolution?<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

A brace against\u00a0FC Dallas on home turf on Thursday preceded another double in the match involving\u00a0Seattle Sounders over the weekend, with Guillermo Barros Schelotto’s side playing the majority of the match against Brian Schmetzer’s team with 10 men after\u00a0Daniel Steres was shown a straight red for his last-man foul on\u00a0Raul Ruidiaz.<\/p>\n

Despite this, Ibra was able to bag two, one either side of the interval \u2013 a bullet header and a confident penalty kick \u2013 to ensure LA snatched a point and continue keep their play-off aspirations very much alive.<\/p>\n

2. Eastern Conference heats up<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Atlanta United and\u00a0Philadelphia Union are currently slogging it out at the top of the East, with the current\u00a0duopoly taking it in turns to hold down the all-important No.1 berth at the peak of the division.<\/p>\n

‘The U’ had a fantastic opportunity to finish week 24 in pole position, with\u00a0Atlanta playing in the\u00a0Campeones Cup – more on that later – but a disappointing 2-0 defeat to a 10-man Chicago Fire on Sunday undid all their good work against Houston Dynamo last Monday.<\/p>\n