Zlatan's L.A. Galaxy suffer late meltdown to miss MLS playoffs
The L.A. Galaxy have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Co. had one foot in the MLS playoffs after Ola Kamara's first-half brace gave the hosts a 2-0 advantage at the interval, only for the Houston Dynamo to storm back with three second-half goals.
Mauro Manotas registered a late second-half brace in the span of six minutes after Honduran international Romell Quioto halved the deficit 13 minutes after the break. With the 3-2 defeat, L.A. finishes seventh in the Western Conference with 48 points, one adrift of Real Salt Lake, who were idle Sunday.
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It was an epic collapse for an in-form Galaxy side.
Dominic Kinnear's charges overcame a horrid start of six defeats in 10 matches under the gaffer's predecessor, Sigi Schmid, to win three of their five remaining contests. Ibrahimovic was a big reason why, scoring 22 goals in 27 matches, good enough for second in the league behind Atlanta United's Josef Martinez.
The Galaxy have now missed the playoffs the last two seasons after qualifying for the postseason in eight consecutive years.