It was a goal-filled Matchday 26 in Major League Soccer, with five games featuring four or more goals.
Much of the attention this weekend was on Inter Miami’s official unveiling of Lionel Messi and his mate Sergi Busquets in Fort Lauderdale, but the round of games leading up to it witnessed numerous impressive performances from existing MLS stars.
It was the final matchday before the league takes a break for the World Cup style tournament involving clubs in MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX, the Leagues Cup.
No doubt many of the names to have been featured in our Player Power rankings will star in that tournament too.
By James Nalton, MLS expert
Ryan Gauld (Vancouver Whitecaps)
The 27-year-old Scotsman continued to prove he is one of the best players in MLS with another headline-grabbing display for the Whitecaps.
Gauld scored twice in a 4-2 win against LA Galaxy on Matchday 26, giving him seven goals and five assists – 12 goal contributions – in his last eight games.
These goals came from a total of seven shots as he continued to show his positional versatility, playing almost as a striker in this game.
The first goal was blasted in with his right foot as the ball rebounded to him in the area off a defender, and the second was slotted in from the penalty spot with his favored left.
He also created three chances against the Galaxy, with an xA (expected assists) score of 0.44 – a reminder, among the goals, of his creative talents.
Ian Harkes (New England Revolution)
Outshining Carles Gil takes some doing, but Harkes arguably managed it in the Revolution’s 4-0 dismantling of DC United.
This was Harkes’ third appearance for New England since his arrival from Scottish Premiership side Dundee United this summer, and just his second start. He wasted no time showing what he could bring to his new club.
DC United’s risky approach is now well documented, thanks in part to high-profile comments from head coach Wayne Rooney who said he expects his goalkeeper Tyler Myler to get chipped once in a while.
Harkes took advantage of one such situation with Miller in no-man’s-land, getting enough dink on the ball to see it sail over the keeper and into the net. A quality finish.
He netted a second from Gil’s deft pass, scooped over a DC defender, to round off a performance that will certainly please his new fans.
Emanuel Reynoso (Minnesota United)
Minnesota United are a whole different prospect with the recently returned Reynoso in their line-up.
He arrived back at the club last month after some time off and has three goals and an assist in five starts.
He has already featured in the Player Power rankings during that time, on Matchday 22, and in this latest round of games was once again one of the best players
He finished the game against Los Angeles FC with a remarkable single-game xA score of 1.34, ten chances created, and his side’s goal in the 1-1 draw against the defending champions.
He started the move himself on the edge of the box, making a run towards goal before receiving it back from Kervin Arriaga who was also instrumental in what was an outstanding piece of build-up play, and one of the goals of the round for that reason.
Lucas Zelarayán (Columbus Crew)
What’s this? Another Argentine attacking midfielder shining in MLS?
Yes and no.
Though he hails from Córdoba, Argentina, Zelarayán represents Armenia at international level via his father’s Armenian roots.
He scored twice against Wales in a Euro 2024 qualifier last month, shortly after having scored a goal-of-the-season contender for Columbus on Matchday 18.
The Crew didn’t manage to get the win in Matchday 26, falling to a 3-2 defeat against the Timbers in Portland, but Zelarayán scored both his side’s goals in impressive fashion as well as creating five chances.
Carles Gil (New England Revolution)
The final place in the Player Power rankings was a tough call (it often is), especially between Carles Gil of New England, FC Cincinnati’s Lucho Acosta, Diego Luna of Real Salt Lake, and Dairon Asprilla of Portland Timbers.
Acosta netted from the penalty spot after his side went behind to a Nashville team that eventually went down to nine men, also adding a nice assist to ensure Cincy remained on course for a Supporters’ Shield triumph.
New England looks set to chase them all the way. Having one of the league’s in-form players in Gil is handy, and the Spaniard is coming into potentially MVP-level form at the right time.
He floated a cross for Gustavo Bou to open the scoring in Foxborough, and then neatly scooped the ball into the path of Harkes for the third goal of four. Gil also created five chances throughout the game with an xA of 1.01.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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