The games are coming thick and fast as Major League Soccer approaches the end of its regular season, and playoff places are secured.
There is an unlikely challenger for a post-season spot in the Eastern Conference, while Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami’s hopes of finishing above the playoff line took another blow in his absence.
The Matchday 36 Player Power rankings feature star performances at both ends of the field as there remains plenty to play for, whether that is home advantage in the playoffs or teams pushing to extend their seasons, scrambling to take those final post-season spots.
There is also a new leader at the top of the Golden Boot standings, while the league’s penalty-taking expert nets a rare goal from open play.
By James Nalton, MLS expert
Denis Bouanga 9.7 (Los Angeles FC)
LAFC’s star man returned to the top of the MLS goalscoring standings with a hat-trick in a 5-1 win against Minnesota United.
The visitors from Minnesota took a 1-0 lead early on in the game, but it didn’t last long.
Bouanga started the comeback with an instinctive, early finish when the ball fell to him in the center of the box.
His second was a well-taken left-footed volley from a Diego Palacios cross, and he completed a first-half hat-trick by firing in a right-footed effort at the near post after some great movement to create separation between himself and the defender.
On his day, Bouanga is the most dangerous attacker in the league, and this performance to propel himself to the top of the goalscoring charts gives LAFC hope it can defend its MLS Cup in the upcoming playoffs.
Karol Świderski 9.3 (Charlotte FC)
It was a tale of two penalties for Charlotte who remain within touching distance of a post-season spot.
For the first, Kamil Jóźwiak may have been going for the record number of unnecessary rolls on the turf as he won the penalty, confirmed by a VAR check, allowing his Polish compatriot Świderski to open the scoring.
The second penalty was a more straightforward decision and Świderski stepped up to take responsibility again, putting Charlotte in the driving seat.
The spot-kicks were a reward for a dominant performance in which the home side enjoyed 62% possession. If you have a lot of the ball in and around the area, there is always a chance of winning a penalty.
Świderski rounded off his individual display with a neat assist, stabbed into the box with the outside of his left boot for Brecht Dejaeghere to flick the ball inventively into the net at the near post.
Designated player Świderski was crowned — quite literally, as is the ritual in Charlotte — man of the match.
Gastón Giménez 8.9 (Chicago Fire)
A club-record crowd of 62,124 witnessed a continuation of Chicago Fire’s unlikely push for a playoff place as it put another dent in Inter Miami’s attempt at a post-season Messi miracle.
Many of those in attendance at Soldier Field will have no doubt come to catch a glimpse of Messi, but MLS’s big draw remained out through injury.
Chicagoans in attendance will not have been disappointed, though, as they witnessed a convincing win for the Fire.
Both Maren Haile-Selassie and Xherdan Shaqiri netted braces on the night, so to save picking between them, the player featuring in the Player Power rankings is midfielder Gastón Giménez.
The Paraguayan provided a platform for the Fire’s counter-attacking play, as despite only having 37% possession, the home side ran out 4-1 winners.
No other Fire player had more touches than the 32-year-old who also completed 2/2 dribbles, made 10 defensive actions, 13 recoveries, and had a pass success of 90%.
It was Giménez who set up Shaqiri’s second goal, too, winning the ball in midfield before playing a pass through for his teammate to seal the win.
“It was a very important game for us today,” Shaqiri said after the game.
“It’s beautiful to see Soldier Field full-packed for a soccer game and I hope they’re gonna come more and more because we showed today how good we are.
“The team spirit is here. Every game now is a final.”
Dániel Gazdag 8.7 (Philadelphia Union)
11 of Gazdag’s 14 goals this season have been from the penalty spot.
“We got a lot of penalties this year,” the Hungarian told the Philadelphia Inquirer last week.
“We are working a lot for them and I just try to score all of them, and I’m confident — that’s the most important thing.”
But in this game, Gazdag’s prowess from the spot (he has a 100% penalty-taking record for the Union) was not required.
He found himself in a great position in the Atlanta United box but was facing his own goal rather than the opposition’s as the ball fell in his direction.
The overhead kick was on and executed to perfection to put the Union 1-0 up.
Shortly after, Mikael Uhre made it 2-0 before Gazdag was involved again, setting up Julián Carranza to score just before halftime to make it 3-0.
Though Atlanta scored twice in the second half to make for a more nervous ending than it needed to be for the home side, the Union hung on for the win to give themselves a chance of a home tie in the first round of the playoffs.
Brad Stuver 8.7 (Austin FC)
Austin FC secured a vital win against DC United to remain within a chance of reaching a post-season spot in the Western Conference.
Though the Texas team won by an eye-catching three goals to nil, the man stopping the goals at the other end was a standout player.
Stuver made a total of eight saves and made 56 actions in total during the game, making him one of the home side’s most involved players.
He saved with his feet — an underrated part of a goalkeeper’s skillset — from one Benteke chance despite initially starting to dive in the opposite direction.
There were a few easier collections to come before he saved again from Benteke, this time with hands after being really well positioned at his near post after Austin gave the ball away.
His most outstanding save came from an Erik Hurtado shot in the second half, and shortly after this, Austin went up the other end to score their third.
Stuver remained well-positioned to make other, more routine saves and keep a clean sheet for his side.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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