Steven Gerrard made his long-awaited Los Angeles Galaxy debut on Saturday night as they beat Mexican side Club America 2-1 in a friendly.
The Liverpool legend played the first half of the International Champions Cup opener at the StubHub Center, where former Reds teammate Robbie Keane stole the show with a superb goal.
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Gerrard is quoted by BBC Sport as saying: “It was good to get 45 minutes under my belt and I’ll keep getting better and better and the more I get used to my team-mates, I’ll improve.
“Physically it was tough. I haven’t played a competitive match for six or seven weeks so it was very important that I got out there and got 45 minutes.”
The ex-England captain may have been a little off the pace, but he came close to scoring when he burst into the box and had a left-footed shot blocked and then cleared off the line.
Carlos Darwin Quintero put the Mexicans ahead inside seven minutes when he broke the offside trap and slid a shot between the legs of LA keeper Brian Rowe.
Galaxy equalised in style on the stroke of half time when Keane, who spent six unhappy months at Anfield from 2008 to 2009, beautifully controlled a long ball and calmly rolled the ball into the net.
Alan Gordon ensured that Gerrard’s Galaxy bow would be marked with a victory when he leapt above two defenders to head a Raul Mendiola cross home via the post 10 minutes from time.
Gerrard could make his MLS debut against the San Jose Earthquakes on July 17, and is on course to face Spanish giants Barcelona in the ICC on July 21.
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