After recording a brace that fueled his team's 3-1 victory over Toronto FC at DRV PNK Stadium on Saturday, Inter Miami CF midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro has been named Player of the Week for Week 21 of the 2021 MLS season.
The 27-year-old was the catalyst behind Miami's victory, striking for goals in the 15th and 48th minutes as his club continued their ascent back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Both goals were head-turners, starting with the opener, which saw Pizarro cross up Toronto defender Luke Singh before coolly slotting home the finish.
After teammate Robbie Robinson doubled the advantage with a 35th-minute goal, Pizarro effectively put the contest to bed with his second tally shortly after the second-half kickoff. It was an even better finish than the first one, as he collected a long ball behind the Toronto backline and lofted a gorgeous chip over Quentin Westberg to make it 3-0.
Toronto pulled one back through a Kieran Gibbs own goal in the 62nd minute, but Inter Miami held on for three points. It continued a resurgent stretch from Phil Neville's team, which has now won four of six matches to pull within five points of the seventh and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
On Monday, Pizarro was also named as an addition to the 2021 MLS All-Star Team.
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 the vote. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
