NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 19, 2023) – Reigning 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire for Matchday 19 of the 2023 MLS season.
This marks the second time this season Mukhtar has earned the award, after being named MOTM on Matchday 11 when the German recorded a hat trick against Chicago Fire FC on May 6 at GEODIS Park.
Mukhtar now has eight Player of the Matchday honors in his career and is the fourth player in MLS history to win multiple Player of the Matchday honors in three consecutive seasons (Bradley Wright-Phillips, Sebastian Giovinco, and Josef Martínez).
Mukhtar’s Team of the Matchday 19 honors were earned after a sensational performance against expansion side St. Louis CITY SC in which the MVP scored a hat trick to defeat St. Louis 3-1 at GEODIS Park on Saturday.
The MVP got the party started on Saturday night with his fastest goal of the season in the 11th minute after a cross in the box by Shaq Moore from the right side was deflected towards Mukhtar in the middle of the box who then hammered it home [WATCH].
Mukhtar converted a penalty for his second goal after Jacob Shaffelburg was taken down from behind in the box [WATCH].
The hat trick came after Dax McCarty set the German attacker with a nifty flick. Alone against the St. Louis keeper, Mukhtar delivered his final goal of the night [WATCH].
Mukhtar now has four career MLS hat tricks and is just the 12th player in league history to hit that mark. The midfielder’s first goal was also his 50th over the past three seasons. With that goal, he became the third player in league history to score 50 goals and add 30 assists over a three-year span, joining Sebastian Giovinco (2015-17) and Robbie Keane (2012-14, 2013-15).
This season, Mukhtar leads all MLS players in goals (13) and goal contributions (20) and has recorded a goal or an assist in 10 of his last 13 league matches. Mukhtar is the only player in MLS to have an active streak of 10 goals and five assists in three straight seasons.
Mukhtar continues to make his case to become the first player in MLS history to win back-to-back Landon Donovan MLS MVP awards. When compared to his MVP season in 2022, Mukhtar has four more goals and two extra assists through Matchday 18 in 2023 (13G + 7A in 2023 > 9G + 5A in 2022). Mukhtar has scored multiple goals 14 times, as Nashville has never lost when Mukhtar scored multiple goals owning a 12W-0L-2D record. Mukhtar has contributed to 90 of Nashville SC’s 159 goals in club history (56 goals, 34 assists).
Mukhtar and Nashville SC will hit the road for a pair of away matches this week, first traveling north of the border to take on CF Montréal on Wednesday June 21 and then visiting Columbus Crew on Saturday, June 24. Both matches are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and can be seen on MLS Season Pass in the Apple TV app and heard on 104.5 The Zone.
The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while a Twitter fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.
