Evander made his latest case for Landon Donovan MLS MVP honors on Wednesday night, notching two goals and an assist to lead the Portland Timbers past the LA Galaxy, 4-2, at Providence Park.
“The games between us and the Galaxy are going to be decided by the quality of the DPs [Designated Players],” Portland head coach Phil Neville told reporters post-match. “Tonight our DPs were better than their DPs.”
In addition to Evander, fellow DP Jonathan Rodríguez also grabbed the spotlight against the Western Conference leaders with a goal and an assist of his own. According to Neville, it was the Uruguayan's best game with the Timbers.
Elite Evander
Still, Evander's massive night stole the headlines as the Brazilian playmaker reached 14g/18a to move level with reigning MLS MVP Luciano Acosta for the most assists in MLS (18) while going clear at the top of the overall goal contribution rankings (32).
“In Evander, we've got someone that's playing at an MVP level,” Neville said. “I've said it from probably the first month of the season: I think I said he's the best No. 10 in the league. People laughed at me, people questioned me, people thought I was joking.”
Not anymore they're not.
Evander appreciated the praise, but quickly pushed the focus off himself and back onto the team.
“I feel very happy to be reminding the league to have people talking about me,” the club-record signing said. “But as I said, my main focus this season is just to put Portland in the playoffs again, have the team play in the playoffs. Because I know if you're qualified for the next stage, you're gonna be another Portland team and you're gonna do everything to win the league.
"I feel really, really grateful, really happy for this effort being mentioned, for all these people, and I'm just doing everything I can to help Portland.”
Playoff dark horse?
The Timbers have the most goals (60) in the Western Conference behind the first trio ever to score 14+ goals each in an MLS season – Evander, Rodríguez (14g/7a) and Felipe Mora (14g/6a) – but still have a fight on their hands for Audi MLS Cup Playoffs positioning.
By knocking off the top dog in the West, Portland reached eighth place (43 points), extending their lead over Minnesota United FC to four points with five matches remaining.
But with Evander in top form, the Timbers will like their chances of escaping Wild Card territory and even fighting for a top-four finish in the lead-up to Decision Day on Oct. 19.
“We're going to be a team that wants to challenge you,” said Neville. “We're going to be a team that wants to go long in the playoffs.”
