After another stellar individual performance that included his first hat trick of the season in his team's 4-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids, Nashville SC star Hany Mukhtar has taken home MLS Player of the Week honors presented by Continental Tire for Week 28.
The standout German's talents were on full display during the lopsided result at GEODIS Park, which saw Mukhtar find the scoresheet in the 29th, 54th and 75th minutes. The opener came from the penalty spot, while the additional second-half tallies provided insurance to allow Nashville to coast to the three-point result, reinforcing Mukhtar's Landon Donovan MLS MVP credentials.
It's the second Player of the Week nod for Mukhtar of the season, joining Philadelphia Union forward Julian Carranza as the only MLS players to win the award twice this season. For his career, Mukhtar has now earned Player of the Week honors five times since his 2020 arrival to MLS from Brøndby IF.
The three goals brought Mukhtar's total on the season up to 19, one off the pace of fellow MVP candidate Sebastian Driussi of Austin FC for the lead in the race for the 2022 MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi. It was also the second hat trick of his MLS career, with the first coming on July 17, 2021 against Chicago Fire FC.
The torrid 2022 campaign continues a blistering run of form for Mukhtar dating back to last season. After notching 28 goal contributions in 2021 (16g/12a), he's already surpassed that total in 2022, with 11 assists in addition to the 19 goals, giving him a league-leading 30 goal contributions through Week 28. His 25 goals since the start of 2021 are the most in MLS over that span, and he's tallied at least one goal contribution in 11 of his last 12 matches.
Mukhtar will have a chance to further his MVP case when Nashville SC return to action in a high-stakes clash with Driussi and Western Conference heavyweight Austin FC at GEODIS Park on Saturday (8:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+).
The MLS Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire 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.
