Wednesday night was the MLS' version of an All-Star Game with the North American league sending its best to Portland to take on the German powerhouse of Bayern Munich. New York Red Bulls striker Bradley Wright-Philipps left no doubt why he was invited.
The MLS' leading scorer this season with 18 goals in 27 games, Wright-Phillips watched the first half from the bench but entered at halftime and got the MLS side even on the board with simply a world-class strike.
He perfectly controlled the header from Erick Torres with one smooth touch and without even completely settling the ball down drove the shot to the far top corner with one heck of a left foot. Just a bomb that showed everybody why he's leading the league in goals.
Wright-Phillips' goal tied it up after an almost equally good goal in the first half from Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski (watch)
Landon Donovan would later score to make it 2-1 for the MLS side before he was subbed out of the game. With the goal, Donovan became the all-time MLS All-Star Game leader in goals scored. It was also enough to earn Donovan the MVP award despite the fact that he barely broke a sweat.
Donovan's goal also proved to be the winner as the MLS held on for a 2-1 win over Bayern Munich, though it was certainly more like Bayern Munich lite. The German champs held out on playing their big names until the final 10 minutes of the game when about half of the German national team that won the World Cup in Brazil was subbed on, but they were unable to find the equalizer.
Though the match was a friendly, it lost some of its friendly feeling. Seattle's Osvaldo Alonso drew a yellow card with a poor challenge, which did not sit well with Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola. After another yellow card was earned by a MLSer (Will Johnson), Pep wasn't in a good mood at all. When the game was over, he declined to shake the hand of the MLS coach, Portland Timbers boss Caleb Porter (GIF via @myregularface).
This was the sixth time in 10 editions of MLS All-Stars against a European power that the MLS side came away with a win, though it was just the second MLS win since 2008.