LAFC stormed to a commanding 4-1 victory over Real Salt Lake on Saturday evening, but it was veteran centre-back Giorgio Chiellini who stole the headlines with a truly mind-boggling passage of play.
The 37-year-old swapped Turin for LA over the summer in one of the most high-profile transfers to the MLS to date.
Any true soccer fan will know of the Italian, who is notoriously bullish in his desire to defend whatever the cost may be. One of the most infamous pictures to prevail at last year’s European Championships perfectly embodies the any-means-necessary mantra he lives by on the pitch – see below.
Chiellini on *that* challenge on Bukayo Saka: "It was probably one of the only mistakes I made during the EUROs. I was convinced I could put my body between Saka and the ball. He wriggled around me. My reaction was to grab him, and I grabbed him good!" pic.twitter.com/MF6yV3fjGt
— AfcVIP⁴⁹ (@VipArsenal) June 12, 2022
Despite Gareth Bale brazenly charging beyond the Salt Lake defence to round off a magical solo effort, Chiellini’s handball remains the biggest talking point following LA’s emphatic victory.
With around 20 minutes left to play, the wiley centre-half seemingly misjudged a floated ball heading in his direction, and knowing his ageing legs could not carry him as fast as the oncoming 24-year-old Sergio Cordova, he reached both hands into the sky to slap the ball to the ground, volleyball style.
No hands allowed, @chiellini 🤣 pic.twitter.com/3sNIGDobRs
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 7, 2022
Did he need to do it? Probably not. But this is the undisputed master of the dark arts, and fans in the States will need to get used to this, which is unfortunate if you are anything but a LAFC fan.
Rather incredibly, the former Juventus man escaped with just a yellow card despite it being one of, if not the, most blatant handball ever witnessed.
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