Major League Soccer ploughed on through the international break with a truncated matchday of six games.
It meant many of the league’s stars were missing, such as recent standout players Facundo Torres of Orlando who was with Uruguay, and Columbus Crew’s Lucas Zelarayan who starred in Armenia’s 4-2 win against Wales, but there was still plenty of quality to look out for.
As MLS continues to hold its breath in anticipation of the arrival of Lionel Messi at Inter Miami, a Nashville SC player who is becoming a legend at the club in its short history showed his importance to his team, and that the league already has some star power.
And it’s there, in Nashville, where we begin our Matchday 19 MLS Player Power rankings.
By James Nalton, MLS expert
Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC)
The German attacker arrived in MLS as a Designated Player ahead of Nashville’s first season in the league in 2020.
He has since become one of the standout players in the competition. Last year he was named MLS MVP and in 2021 was named in the league’s best XI.
He has continued that form into the new season and this weekend’s performance against St. Louis City was one of his best in a season already full of standout moments.
It was his second hat-trick of the season, making it 13 goals in total, to go with six assists.
He also played a part in the moment that won his team the penalty and saw Kyle Hiebert sent off for St. Louis.
Through on goal, he showed his unselfishness by passing to Jacob Shaffelburg who was in a good position to score but was brought down by the St. Louis man already on a yellow card.
Mukhtar dispatched the penalty, of course, to go with his first-half effort, and eventually scored his third following a great move from Nashville that included a nice backheeled assist from Dax McCarty.
The 28-year-old looks set to be in the MVP conversation once again, and even with the arrival of a certain Argentine, he will remain one of the best players in MLS.
Pablo Ruiz (Real Salt Lake)
Another week in MLS, another goal from the halfway line. Last week it was Columbus Crew attacking midfielder Zelarayan catching out Chicago goalkeeper Spencer Richey.
This week it was RSL’s Argentinian taking advantage of what has become a high-profile issue at DC United.
DC United head coach Wayne Rooney had spoken this month about his goalkeeper Tyler Miller, who likes to sweep up behind the defence and join in with the buildup play, almost as a 12th outfield player. This can mean he is sometimes quite far off his line.
Atlanta’s Giorgos Giakoumakis took advantage of this last week after Miller came out to sweep up a ball but failed to do so, and Atlanta’s Greek striker scored in an empty net from a narrow angle.
“Someone is going to chip him at some point,” Rooney admitted to the Athletic this month. “That’s going to happen. He knows that. I’ve told him that. I accept that in terms of how I want him to play.”
And this is exactly what happened against RSL. Ruiz spotted Miller off his line, getting the perfect trajectory on a shot from just inside his own half to lift the ball over the stranded goalkeeper.
It sounds simple. Rooney pointed it out. Ruiz executed. But it is not easy to do in the middle of a competitive game. Maybe players can regularly pull off this type of shot in training, but lofting the ball over a retreating goalkeeper in a match is something else entirely.
Ruiz managed it though, and it was as impressive as Zelarayan’s strike a week earlier, if not more so as it found the top corner, and it more than earns him a place in our Player Power rankings for Matchday 19.
Carles Gil (New England Revolution)
New England’s Spanish maestro makes the Player Power rankings for the second matchday in a row, and it isn’t likely to be his last appearance on this list this season, either.
Gil continues to be one of the standout players in the league along with Mukhtar, whom he pipped to the MLS MVP award in 2021 as New England cruised to the top of the Eastern Conference standings and claimed the Supporters’ Shield in style.
The team is part of the group that is chasing Eastern Conference leaders FC Cincinnati, and if Gil carries on this current form they will be up there challenging come the end of the season.
The Spaniard touched the ball 86 times in New England’s 3-1 win against Orlando City this weekend, creating three chances, completing three dribbles, and adding his name to the scoresheet for the second week in a row. It is now four goals in as many games for the 30-year-old.
The game also witnessed great strikes from New England’s Gustavo Bou and Emmanuel Boateng as Bruce Arena’s side remains unbeaten at home this season.
Aaron Long (LAFC)
The United States centre-back joined LAFC at the start of the season after his contract at New York Red Bulls came to an end. It’s been a step up for the 30-year-old who has also been called up to the national team for the Gold Cup, but he has eventually settled, playing a leadership role in the back line in the absence of Giorgio Chiellini.
LAFC has been struggling, though, and going into this weekend’s match against Sporting Kansas City hadn’t won in six games, including defeats in both legs of the Concacaf Champions League final against Club León.
The absence of star forward Denis Bouanga, who was on international duty with Gabon, made things even more difficult.
Sporting KC dominated possession in the game, and it looked like LAFC had done well to secure a point, but then Long spotted Carlos Vela in space behind the back line in added time.
At first, it looked like a clearance that just happened to find its way to the Mexican forward by chance, but on the replay, it was clear that this was a controlled, guided first-time pass from Long as the ball fell to him at waist height. Not an easy skill.
Vela had managed to stay in space as Sporting KC pushed up the field, but crucially had also managed to stay onside, so when Long’s long ball came in his direction he was on hand to race through on goal and score a dramatic, much-needed winner for last year’s MLS champions.
Daniel (San Jose Earthquakes)
There were a few solid goalkeeping performances in this latest weekend of MLS action – indeed our best rated keeper was Tyler Miller, but with DC United’s No. 1 already featuring heavily earlier in this article, let’s focus on a player who’s performances have stood out between the posts this year, Daniel of San Jose.
For many years now, the Earthquakes had been a team that leaked goals for fun. At times it seemed they literally did it for the fun of it too.
It added to the entertainment as they were involved in some crazy high-scoring games, but since a Supporters’ Shield win in 2012 the team has never looked solid enough to challenge for honours.
There are early signs that this year could be different, and Brazilian goalkeeper Daniel has played a big part in this.
The 29-year-old, who arrived in San Jose from Internacional in Brazil this season, has been good at keeping the goals against column lower than it perhaps should be for his side.
He is the best goalkeeper in MLS when it comes to post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed, with a score of +5.2 (FBref). I.e., he is saving more shots than might normally be expected according to the data related to the quality of shots he’s faced.
He has conceded just two goals in a run of five games since coming back into the team for San Jose’s other goalkeeper, JT Marcinkowski, keeping three clean sheets in that time.
A great save from a header by compatriot Evander Ferreira in the 0-0 draw against Portland this weekend ensured his side remained unbeaten in those five games since his return, and remain in contention to top the Western Conference.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
You can follow every match from the 2023 MLS season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.