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Michael Bradley on Zlatan Ibrahimovic confrontation: 'There wasn't much to it'

"There wasn't much to it," Michael Bradley has said of the trash talking that went on between himself and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in Toronto FC's 5-3 victory over the LA Galaxy on Saturday night at BMO Field.

The pair were caught in a spirited argument in the 93rd minute of Saturday's match, in which the defending MLS Cup champions won for just the second time in their past six matches, and handed the Galaxy their seventh straight contest without a win.

The Toronto FC captain was a guest on Monday's edition of the Max & Herc podcast, and ESPN analyst and former U.S. men's national team teammate Herculez Gomez asked Bradley about the confrontation.

"I thought we were having a good football conversation, I really did," Bradley said with a laugh. "I guess he didn't quite think so. That's OK. He's not the first guy and he won't be the last guy to not like me, so I've gotten over it.

"In the end, there wasn't much to it."

Ibrahimovic had already had his say. The Galaxy No. 9 told media immediately following the match that Bradley "thinks he is the philosopher of football."

"I have more goals than he has games," Ibrahimovic said after scoring his 500th career goal. "He should follow my rules."

With nearly 48 hours to cool off, Bradley could only speak positively of Ibrahimovic's impact on Major League Soccer, and demonstrated a level of admiration for the 36-year-old's showmanship.

"Ibra is always good for a one-liner and a witty comment after a game and in those moments," Bradley said. "I think, like everyone, how can you not be entertained by him?

"Everything that he has done, even if you just look at this year, since he's come into the league, some of the goals he's scored, some of the things he says, he's a personality. You can't ever take that part away from him."

Bradley and his teammates will have to quickly turn their attention to a challenging week ahead. Four days after Saturday's win against the Galaxy, Toronto will play host to Liga MX club Tigres in the first annual Campeones Cup (Wednesday, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2) before traveling to New York to face the Red Bulls on Saturday (5:00 p.m. ET, ESPN+).

It will be the Reds' second opportunity to lift silverware against Mexican opposition after falling on penalties to Chivas in the CONCACAF Champions League final, despite a disastrous MLS campaign in which Toronto sits nine points out of a playoff place with six games remaining.

"We came within a kick of the ball of lifting that trophy," Bradley said. "Regardless of whether you win or lose, you have to be able to find the reset button and get ready for the MLS grind and understand everything it's going to take to live through another MLS season, Canadian Championships and playoffs.

"It's been a lot to deal with, and we probably -- not probably, we haven't done a good-enough job in all of those ways. Some of that's luck, some of that's injuries and some of that's down to us."

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