Josef Martinez shrugged off an injury and made history, and became MLS Player of the Week in the process, too.
The Atlanta United forward scored both goals in a 2-1 win over NYCFC on Sunday. Battling through an adductor injury, Martinez scored for the 10th consecutive MLS game, a league record, and was voted MLS Player of the Week for Week 23 of the 2019 MLS regular season.
The Venezuelan opened the scoring from the run of play a few minutes before halftime, heading in an early cross, before grabbing the eventual winner from the penalty spot just after the hour mark.
Martinez now has 20 goals in 22 league appearances to date this season, sitting just three behind Golden Boot presented by Audi leader Carlos Vela, the closest margin in that race in weeks. The Player of the Week selection is Martinez's second of the season and eighth since joining MLS in 2017.
The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week 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.
