COMMERCE CITY, Colo. | New York City FC captain David Villa scored in the 23rd minute as the Major League All Stars beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the 2015 MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday evening at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Colorado.
Villa, the first MLS All-Star in New York City FC history, was named to the MLS Starting XI and played the entire first half in the victory.
The 33-year-old, who leads the Club with 12 goals and ranks third in the league, put the MLS All Stars up 2-0 early in the match.
Watch: David Villa scores in his first MLS All Star Game
Los Angeles’ Gyasi Zardes latched onto a lovely diagonal ball from the defense and drove down the left side before playing it across the Tottenham 18-yard box to Seattle’s Clint Dempsey. The United States international who started up top with Villa, laid the ball off to his right. MLS All Star captain Kaka (Orlando City SC) ran onto it and crossed the ball low and hard toward the penalty area as Villa opened his body and guided the ball into the top left corner with the inside of his left boot.
Kaka and Villa were instrumental in putting the MLS All Stars up 1-0 just three minutes earlier.
Villa’s corner kick in the 20th minute went into a dangerous area in the middle of the box toward Kaka, but Spurs midfielder Nacer Chadli played it with his arm and was called for a handball.
Kaka stepped to the spot and fired home a powerful kick to the lower left corner for a one-goal advantage.
Harry Kane put the London-based English Premier League side on the board in the 37th minute. Kane, who scored 31 goals in 51 matches in all competitions last season, took advantage of a miscue by the MLS All Stars. Zardes tried playing a ball back to the defensive line, but Sporting Kansas City’s Matt Besler slipped.
Kane gained possession and drove one-on-one at the Galaxy’s Omar Gonzalez before blasting a ball past Nick Rimando (three saves) to make the score 2-1.
The MLS All Stars made wholesale changes in the second half, fielding 11 new players.
