After video review ended Wayne Rooney’s afternoon with a deserving red card Saturday, a dismissal that punctuated a 4-0 stinker against Los Angeles FC, D.C. United’s English star marched some 60 yards without interruption to the stairs leading to the locker room below Audi Field’s south stands.
Rooney, at least, got to escape the carnage. His teammates were not as fortunate, embarrassed from start to finish on a sun-splashed day that exposed the massive gap between MLS’s best team and its supposed second-best side.
Unbeaten in the regular season since last summer and scored upon just once through four matches this spring, United conceded three goals in the first 32 minutes and showed no signs of the team that was poised for the best start in club history.