The 2018 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 23rd edition of the annual Major League Soccer All-Star Game. It was held on August 1 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia and played against Italian club Juventus. The match was tied 1–1 after 90 minutes and was settled in a penalty shoot-out that Juventus won 5–3.
Josef Martínez won MVP.
The match was attended by 72,317, setting a new record for a standalone MLS All-Star Game.
Pre-match
In October 2017, MLS announced that Atlanta would host the All-Star Game, due to the success of the first-year Atlanta United FC. Juventus was confirmed as the match's opponents in March 2018, participating as part of their American pre-season tour.
Match rules Unlimited substitutions Penalty shoot-out if tied through full time; no extra time
Squads MLS All-Stars
(captain)
Manager: Gerardo Martino (Atlanta United)
Juventus
Manager: Massimiliano Allegri
Notes: Injured or otherwise unable to play.
Match
GK 1 Brad Guzan DF 62 Michael Amir Murillo DF 33 Aaron Long DF 23 Laurent Ciman DF 5 Francisco Calvo MF 2 Tyler Adams MF 14 Alexander Ring MF 11 Carlos Vela (c) MF 10 Miguel Almirón MF 21 Ignacio Piatti FW 17 Josef Martínez Substitutes:GK 18 Zack Steffen DF 3 Michael Parkhurst DF 28 Graham Zusi DF 24 Matt Hedges DF 67 Alphonso Davies MF 8 Diego Valeri MF 25 Darwin Quintero MF 4 Jonathan dos Santos MF 6 Ilie MF 19 Yoshimar Yotún MF 77 Wilfried Zahibo MF 16 Alberth Elis MF 27 Ezequiel Barco FW 99 Bradley Wright-Phillips FW 12 Sebastian Giovinco Manager: Gerardo Martino GK 1 Wojciech Szczęsny DF 20 João Cancelo DF 24 Daniele Rugani DF 15 Andrea Barzagli (c) DF 12 Alex Sandro MF 6 Sami Khedira MF 5 Miralem Pjanić MF 23 Emre Can FW 33 Federico Bernardeschi FW 42 Andrea Favilli FW 40 Matheus Pereira Substitutes:GK 16 Carlo Pinsoglio GK 19 Mattia Perin GK 32 Mattia Del Favero DF 3 Giorgio Chiellini DF 4 Medhi Benatia DF 2 Mattia De Sciglio DF 43 Alessandro Di Pardo MF 8 Claudio Marchisio MF 35 Roman Macek MF 36 Grigoris Kastanos MF 34 Leandro Fernandes MF 44 Nicolò Fagioli FW 41 Stefano Beltrame FW 38 Luca Clemenza FW 31 Pietro Beruatto Manager: Massimiliano Allegri
Most valuable player: Josef Martínez (MLS All-Stars)
Assistant referees: Jason White Eric Weisbrod Fourth official: Nima Saghafi Video assistant referee: Alex ChilowiczMatch rules 90 minutes. Unlimited substitutions. No extra time. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
Controversy Zlatan Ibrahimović, then a player of the Los Angeles Galaxy, was selected for the All-Star Game, but he chose to withdraw from the game, citing fatigue caused by travelling and the congested schedule. In consequence, the MLS suspended Ibrahimović for the regular season game after the All-Star Game, which saw the Colorado Rapids defeat the Galaxy by 2-1. In a later interview, Ibrahimović called the suspension "ridiculous". "They do whatever they want. I come from a different world, I come from the real world." said Ibrahimović.
References