Some new names to the Player Power rankings caught the eye in Major League Soccer’s Matchday 21 as the race for the playoffs and the Supporters’ Shield begin to take shape.
It’s been a tough schedule for MLS teams, especially as recent games have coincided with international breaks and missing players as a result.
This matchday followed a midweek round of games with barely a chance to pause for breath, but this provided an opportunity for those new faces to score highly in our ratings.
By James Nalton, MLS expert
Ryan Gauld (Vancouver Whitecaps)
Vancouver’s forward line is starting to click. It put six past Houston Dynamo earlier in the month, and in this most recent game scored three against MLS Cup champions Los Angeles FC.
Scottish designated player Ryan Gauld is a key part of this, contributing goals, and assists.
He assisted two of the goals against LAFC, one from a corner for Ranko Veselinović and another with a perfectly lofted cross from the left for Brian White, before scoring the third goal himself, which turned out to be the game-winner.
Since arriving in the league the 27-year-old has been one of its outstanding players, but this hasn’t always converted into wins for his team meaning he’s always been a level below those discussed as MLS MVP candidates.
If the Whitecaps can push on a be among the best teams in the league, as head coach Vanni Sartini believes they can, then Gauld will be viewed alongside the likes of Hany Mukhtar, Carles Gil, Thiago Almada et al.
“We showed today that no team in the league is better than us,” Sartini said following the LAFC win.
“We are still ninth, of course now because we have played two fewer games than other teams, but we need to aim for the sky because this team is really good.”
A Canadian Championship win earlier in the month, in which Gauld scored the winner from the penalty spot in the final against Montreal, means the team has already qualified for next season’s Concacaf Champions Cup, so can now focus on finishing as high as possible in the Western Conference.
Samuel Adeniran (St. Louis City)
Despite injuries to its two designated players, Eduard Löwen and João Klauss, expansion side St. Louis City remain top of the Western Conference.
A 2-1 win against San Jose Earthquakes on Matchday 21, thanks to the goals of Adeniran, helped it stay there for a little while longer as LAFC lurks just behind them with a game in hand.
This was Adeniran’s first start of the season having spent some time on loan with USL Championship side San Antonio FC.
The injury situation in St. Louis meant the Houston-born centre-forward was recalled shortly before this game, and it was a dream return, or introduction, to the team.
He scored twice, once from a header and another confidently from the penalty spot, to give his team the win.
“I think it will hit me on the plane,” Adeniran said after the game.
“I didn’t even really get a chance to train with the team and to be able to help the team in this way is a blessing. I’m really grateful.”
Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake)
It’s been a good month for the 19-year-old RSL attacker. After impressing at the U20 World Cup in Argentina, where his United States side went as far as the quarter-finals stage for the fourth tournament in a row, Luna returned to club football for a rare run of starts in MLS.
Luna has long been considered one of the league’s, and indeed the country’s, most talented young players, but has so far not seen as much regular senior-level club football as he and his admirers may have liked.
That has changed this month, fresh from some standout displays in Argentina, the hardworking, technically gifted attacker has started RSL’s last four games and made a good case for getting a run in the side for the rest of the season.
Luna scored his first MLS goal in a midweek matchday 3-1 win against St. Louis City last week, following it up with an assist and a FotMob Star Player performance in a 2-2 draw with Minnesota on the weekend.
In that most recent game, he created seven chances for his teammates with an expected assists score of 0.88, and has regularly shown his worth to the team on and off the ball in these past four games.
Mateusz Klich (DC United)
The former Leeds United midfielder is often close to being featured in these Player Power rankings but has never quite made the list of five… until now.
On Matchday 21 he was a key part of an impressive DC United win against the best team in MLS so far this season, and cannot be overlooked.
Klich‘s importance to the team is demonstrated by the fact he is fourth in MLS for chances created this season behind star names Cristian Espinoza, Thiago Almada, and Carles Gil.
He is also fourth in the league for expected assists, creating chances from set pieces as well as in open play.
The 33-year-old created five chances in the Cincinnati game alone, assisting the opening goal for Pedro Santos. It was his free-kick from deep which caused trouble for the Cincinnati defence for the second, too.
Cincinnati were without the likes of Yerson Mosquera, Matt Miazga and Brandon Vazquez due to international call-ups, but still had three of their most important players —Luciano Acosta, Alvaro Barreal, and Obinna Nwobodo—in the lineup.
The win meant DC United remains in touch with the playoff places with just over half of the season gone and the creative and attacking combination of Klich and Christian Benteke offers Wayne Rooney’s side hope of making the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
Frankie Amaya (New York Red Bulls)
It was a short and sweet appearance for 22-year-old New York Red Bulls midfielder Amaya on Matchday 21.
It’s not easy to make the Player Power rankings having only entered the field on the 77th minute, but Amaya was perfect off the bench.
His two goals in 12 minutes helped finish off Atlanta United at the Red Bulls’ home in New Jersey, and he did everything right in those limited minutes he was on the pitch.
Two shots, two goals, albeit with help from slight deflections. Five out of five passes completed. One tackle attempted, one tackle won. One cross attempted, one cross completed.
It is a small sample size but it was enough to make an impact and become FotMob’s star of the game in this impressive 4-0 win, just ahead of fellow outstanding young American midfielder on the night, Daniel Edelman.
The Red Bulls have underperformed their xG so far this season, but this was an indication of what they can do if things go right and they get a bit more luck.
The team has turned a corner under new head coach Troy Lesesne and is slowly working its way towards the playoff spots.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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