Our Major League Soccer expert James Nalton picks the standout players from the latest round of games in MLS, including his two votes for the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) MLS Player of the Matchday.
By James Nalton
The Top Two
9.7 FotMob rating: Luis Suárez, Inter Miami
Lionel Messi will likely take the plaudits for the impact he had off the bench and his brilliant hat-trick, but Suárez was just as good, if not better, for Inter Miami in their 6-2 dismantling of New England Revolution.
The win saw Inter Miami break Major League Soccer’s regular season points record, edging the previous record of 73 set by Saturday’s opponents New England in 2021.
This version of New England looks a far cry from that one as they finished 14th in the Eastern Conference in 2024, but at the same time, Inter Miami are a far cry from the one who themselves finished 14th in 2023.
Suárez, as much as Messi, has epitomised their turnaround and scored twice in the first half to get Miami back in the game having gone two goals down.
He set the platform for Messi’s magic hat-trick and assisted two of those three goals himself.
Suárez finished the season with the same number of goals as Messi on 20, and just one assist fewer than his teammate for the season, with nine. Six of those assists were for Messi goals.
If Messi wins the 2024 MLS MVP award as expected, it will be Suárez’s biggest assist of the season.
9.6 FotMob rating: Lionel Messi, Inter Miami
And now to Messi himself. He came off the bench in the 58th minute against New England and immediately made an impact, sending Jordi Alba through to assist the go-ahead goal for Benjamin Cremaschi.
That was just the starter though. The main course came in the form of a hat-trick – his first in MLS. It feels like he does this kind of thing every time he plays.
Despite starting just 15 games in the 34-game MLS regular season, he still has a case to be named its best player.
This hat-trick, scored in the space of 11 minutes, was a good example of why.
It put him on 1.21 goals per 90 in MLS this season, a single-season league record for players who have played more than 300 minutes.
Three more standout performers
8.9 FotMob rating: Daniel Steres, Houston Dynamo
It was a goal that changed the outlook at the top of the Western Conference, not just for the Dynamo themselves as they moved into a more favourable playoff spot, but especially for their opponents, LA Galaxy.
The Galaxy had led the Western Conference standings since July and needed a win or a draw to claim top spot and with it home advantage for the majority of the playoffs.
They went behind when Steres, himself a former Galaxy player, glanced a free-kick from Héctor Herrera to assist a goal for Ezequiel Ponce just before halftime.
A Gabriel Pec penalty in the 6th minute of added time in the second half looked to have done enough for the Galaxy to achieve their aims, but the drama was not over.
In the 11th minute of added time, Steres got in front of his marker to score a great header from Griffin Dorsey’s cross to defeat the Galaxy.
It meant LAFC’s 3-1 win against San Jose Earthquakes was enough to see them overtake the Galaxy to claim top spot in the West by a single goal on goal difference.
8.9 FotMob rating: Elliot Panicco, Nashville SC
Goalkeepers being among the top performers has been a feature of the season, and this week was the turn of Panicco, of Nashville.
He was making just his sixth start of the season in place of usual No. 1 Joe Willis, and he certainly made an impact.
He helped his side keep a clean sheet in a 3-0 win, facing an xG on target figure of 1.78.
There were good saves from Chris Mueller, Georgios Koutsias, Brian Gutierrez, and Hugo Cuypers, with six saves in total.
There was no chance of playoff qualification on Decision Day for Nashville, but they will nevertheless be pleased to end the season on a high, and Panicco will be pushing to make more appearances next season.
8.1 FotMob rating: Eduard Atuesta, Los Angeles FC
While Steres’ late goal for Houston against LA Galaxy was one part of the equation that could see LAFC finish top of the Western Conference, they still needed to win their own game by a two-goal margin.
Having gone behind to a goal from San Jose’s Jackson Yueill, this was not as simple a task as it might have been.
Denis Bouanga levelled the scores, but it was substitute Atuesta whose contributions made the difference, scoring a great goal of his own before assisting the vital third, sending in a free kick for Marlon to head home in the 90th minute.
It all made for a dramatic final day at the top of the Western Conference table, and a turnaround that saw LAFC finish as the top seed on that side of the league.
(Cover Image from IMAGO)
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