MLS is certainly up to the challenge this year. First, the MLS All-Stars outplayed a tired and lumbering Chelsea during their 1-0 victory in Chicago; then MLS leaders D.C. United outplayed the Galacticos of Real Madrid in 1-1 draw last night in Seattle. The Washington Post said United’s goal was “the stuff of European excellence: superb one-touch passing in tight space and a dynamic strike from the top of the penalty area.” The move started from D.C. wunderkind Freddy Adu who crossed the ball to Josh Gros, who passed it on to Christian Gomez and Jaime Moreno before Alecko Eskandarian fired it home to tie the friendly in 25th minute. Antonio Cassano had put Madrid in the lead in the 22nd minute. The Post said that United, with a superior level of fitness and organization, outplayed Madrid’s galacticos for long stretches. Despite the fact that the match meant absolutely nothing to either team, it was, once again, important for MLS to achieve a good result and a degree of respect from one of the world’s most well known sports teams. It must have been a particularly satisfying week for D.C. coach Peter Nowak, who led the All-Stars to victory over MLS at the weekend, and then earned a draw with Real Madrid last night. “The guys played their hearts out,” Nowak said. “It was a great sequence to score the goal. We had some scary moments, but it was a great effort by all these guys.” As for Real’s stars, they seemed taken aback. “They made it a really tough game for us,” striker Ruud van Nistelrooy said. “They showed they’re a very good football team.” Well, then, mission accomplished.