Video: Didier Drogba scores 9th MLS goal in 9 games with astounding free kick
They say class is permanent, and Didier Drogba proved that as Montreal Impact beat Colorado Rapids 1-0 in the MLS. Even at the age of 37, Drogba is still giving goalkeepers nightmares with a hunger for goals that is rarely seen in players in the twilight of their careers.
Impact came into this game after losing the previous two and needed a win to stay in the hunt for the final playoff position in the Eastern Conference. The win, thanks to the Ivorian striker’s goal, now puts them in sixth place on 45 points – four points above Orlando City – with two games to go.
Having won a free-kick in the 15th minute, Drogba stepped up to take it. And from 30 yards out, he delivered. It was Drogba’s ninth goal of the season – in nine games! Rapids owner Stan Kroenke might just have had enough of Drogba tormenting his teams; he has scored numerous times against another club he owns – Arsenal.
With the defensive wall not exactly placed correctly, Drogba bent the ball over the wall and in towards the near post leaving the goalkeeper with no chance to make the save in spite of making a full-length dive.
“It's very difficult to play here,” Drogba said after the game, according to CBC. “It's tough, but we dealt quite well with the altitude. We all worked hard to secure the result."
Even Impact head coach Mauro Biello was happy with the result, saying, “We grinded this one out. It was not pretty and it was not our best performance, but it's three points on the road.
“I can only applaud my team because it was a third game this week and we traveled a lot. Fatigue and altitudes were factors in this game. It's quite remarkable that we held on.”