AS Roma 3, MLS All-Stars 1
KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- AS Roma scored in the first four minutes of each half, and the Italian team pulled away to defeat the Major League Soccer All-Stars 3-1 Wednesday at Sporting Park.
Alessandro Florenzi had a goal and an assist for Roma.
Los Angeles Galaxy and U.S. national team defender Omar Gonzalez scored the MLS goal in second-half stoppage time on a header. Vancouver Whitecaps striker Camilo Sanvezzo assisted.
Roma quickly silenced the stadium-record crowd of 21,175 as Kevin Strootman streaked past the defense and pushed one past goalkeeper Raul Fernandez in the fourth minute. Florenzi picked up an assist.
The MLS defense seemed as if it were still trying to figure out where it was supposed to be when Roma scored.
Roma controlled most of the early action, and it outshot MLS 6-3 in the first half.
Roma just missed a couple of scoring chances besides Strootman's goal. Roma had four shots on goal in the first 15 minutes before MLS got its first chance.
MLS stabilized later in the half, and even had a couple of solid chances to get one past goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis, but the Roma defense deflected each chance. The best chance -- and the biggest roar from the crowd -- came when Sporting KC's Aurelien Collin tried a header off a set play midway through the first half. Collin's attempt sailed over the crossbar.
The second half started the way the first half did, after mass substitutions for the MLS team left the defense searching. In the 47th minute, Florenzi scored off a perfect cross from Federico Balzaretti on the left wing. Goalkeeper Nick Rimando had no chance to stop Florenzi's flick.
Junior Tallo scored the third goal for Roma. Stootman got behind the MLS defense, then crossed it to Tallo, who slid the ball past Mike Magee for the shot on Rimando.
NOTES: At halftime, commissioner Don Garber announced that MLS plans to expand to 24 teams by 2020. The league is adding its 15th franchise, New York City FC, for the 2015 season. ... Galaxy and U.S. national team star Landon Donovan played in his 13th consecutive MLS All-Star Game, dating back to 2001, his first year in the league. ... Wednesday's game marked the 10th time the MLS All-Stars have squared off against a squad from one of Europe's premier leagues. The MLS All-Stars are 6-2-1 all-time. Manchester United owns the only two European victories in series. ... Eight of the 20 MLS All-Stars were making their All-Star Game debut. The most debutants in an All-Star Game was 14 in 2009. ... AS Roma has won three Serie A titles since its inception in 1927, the last in 2000-01.
