Steven Gerrard's hopes of lifting a championship trophy have been cruelly dashed once again after his LA Galaxy team were eliminated from the MLS playoffs.
The former Liverpool captain can enjoy a nice, long winter break after the 2014 champions slumped to a 3-2 loss in the MLS Cup play-in round.
LA had to play an extra game after losing their last two regular season fixtures, and fell to a Seattle Sounders side who they had eliminated from last season's playoffs.
The match was not a great advertisement for defending as four of the game's five goals were scored in the opening 22 minutes, with Clint Dempsey grabbing the opener for Seattle after a mistake from Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.
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Galaxy didn't heed the warning of the first goal, and despite getting back level at 1-1 through former West Ham midfielder Sebastian Lletget they went behind again.
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LA did get it back to 2-2 at half time, with American international Gyasi Zardes finding the net.
But after the break, the defending champions realised all too late that punting a ball up into the air in your own penalty box is a very bad idea. Erik Friberg slotted home the winner.
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