As the United States men’s team was being knocked out of the Gold Cup semifinals by Panama, its domestic league, Major League Soccer, continued apace, with a midweek round of fixtures being played at the same time.
Midweek matches can be unpredictable, and with some players still away on international duty and new arrivals looking to make their mark following the opening of the transfer window, such a round of games at this stage of the season brings added intrigue.
There were standout players across the field in Matchday 25, and here are the five who made our Player Power rankings at the final whistle.
By James Nalton, MLS expert
José Cifuentes (Los Angeles FC)
LAFC’s Ecuadorian midfielder isn’t quite performing to the levels of previous seasons so far in 2023 but gave a reminder of how influential he can be as he helped his side to a 3-0 win against Western Conference challengers St. Louis City.
It required an almost acrobatic movement to play the ball over the top from inside his own half for Carlos Vela to open the scoring for LAFC in the 72nd minute, and from there, the floodgates opened.
Cifuentes was then on hand to score his side’s third in added time. Still with enough energy in the tank, he burst forward through midfield and was ideally positioned on the edge of the area to receive a pass from wide by Nathan Ordaz before finishing convincingly into the bottom corner.
Add to this 11 passes into the final third, four out of four tackles won, and seven defensive recoveries, and you get a complete performance from the midfielder. A reminder of why there is still interest in him from Europe during this summer transfer window.
Obinna Nwobodo (FC Cincinnati)
In a league full of creative and attacking midfielders, sometimes the more defensive or box-to-box players in the middle of the park are overlooked.
But this week, a late game-winning volley from FC Cincinnati’s Nigerian midfielder Obinna Nwobodo against New York Red Bulls gives us a chance to sing his praises.
Nwobodo has been one of the best players on this Cincy team that has stormed to the top of the Eastern Conference and also leads the overall standings.
This position sees the team remain the favourite to claim the Supporters’ Shield at the end of the 2023 regular season and puts it in a good place ahead of the playoffs.
Per the FotMob overall player ratings, Nwobodo is the third-best Cincinnati player this season, behind star attacker Lucho Acosta and standout wing-back Alvaro Barreal, with an average rating of 7.52.
Nwobodo makes the Player Power rankings this week thanks to his late goal, but he also won four out of four tackles, made two interceptions and ten recoveries, demonstrating the work in midfield that has been so important to his team’s success this season.
Cristian Espinoza (San Jose Earthquakes)
San Jose’s Argentine winger Cristian Espinoza has been one of the best players in MLS so far this season.
He has played a big role in the Earthquakes’ newfound ability to stay in touch with the leading teams in the Western Conference.
His goal from the penalty spot in a 2-0 win against west coast heavyweights Seattle Sounders means he has now scored three in his last three games following something of a lull after his MVP-level early-season form.
He then provided the assist from a corner for Miguel Trauco’s volley which was one of the goals of the round.
Espinoza had more touches of the ball than any other player on his team with 69 and finished the game with a pass success of 90%, which is impressive for a winger who tries to make things happen in the final third.
The assist was his 51st for the club and means he passes Shea Salinas as the all-time club leader for that particular stat.
“It makes me feel very happy because I can see all the effort and sacrifices that I made in every single training session since I arrived here paying off now,” said Espinoza.
“At the same time, I try to keep the focus on trying to help the team. I think that is the most important thing for me.”
Đorđe Petrović (New England Revolution)
There were a collection of good goalkeeping performances during these midweek games, including Chicago’s Chris Brady making the team of the week for his clean sheet against Montreal and Minnesota United’s Dayne St. Clair putting in a good display against Houston.
Kendall McIntosh of Sporting KC and Gavin Beavers of Real Salt Lake also made good saves in the meeting between their respective teams to make sure each claimed a point.
There weren’t the only ones, either, but the standout once again was in New England.
Despite not keeping a clean sheet, Petrović’s performance between the sticks played a key part in securing the win for his team, as is so often the case, this time against Atlanta United.
The Serbian who remains on the radar of European clubs made an MLS personal best ten saves to keep Atlanta out for much of the game, and wasn’t beaten until Machop Chol scored a consolation goal in the 93rd minute.
The 2.69 expected goals on target he faced in this game is an indicator of how many saves he had to make and how difficult some of them were.
A save from Juan José Purata following a corner kick routine was a particular highlight, while even an impressive Thiago Almada couldn’t find a way past him.
Jack Elliott (Philadelphia Union)
His Philadelphia Union teammate and centre-back partner Jacob Glesnes may be the player who more regularly gets nominated for end-of-season awards, and is also the one called up to the MLS All-Star game this month, but Jack Elliott remains one of the best defenders in this league.
He proved as much once again with a display that was as key to Philadelphia Union’s 2-0 victory against Nashville as the two penalty goals scored by Daniel Gazdag.
Elliott made numerous key interventions in defence throughout the game. With star goalkeeper Andre Blake away on international duty with Jamaica, this was a valuable contribution to help backup keeper Joe Bendik.
This included two goalline clearances as part of nine total clearances, as well as important blocks.
To win a game like this you sometimes need a bit of luck, but being in the right place at the right time to intervene, as Elliott so often was, is a skill in itself.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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