Orlando City SC star Nani has earned AT&T Goal of the Week honors for Week 3 of the MLS season after a stunning curler in last weekend’s 3-0 win over FC Cincinnati.
Nani left Cincy midfielder Yuya Kubo in a spin cycle before cutting back onto his left and beating goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton to the far corner. For his efforts, the Lions’ Designated Player earned 37.9% of the final vote.
Nani’s effort beat out San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Jackson Yueill, who took second place with 30.1% of the final tally. Yueill launched a tractor-beam volley past D.C. United goalkeeper Chris Seitz in last weekend’s 4-1 win at PayPal Park.
The two other nominees were Colorado Rapids forward Diego Rubio (20.1%, third place) and New York Red Bulls midfielder Caden Clark (11.9%, fourth place). Rubio launched a stunning free kick off the crossbar and in during a 1-0 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC, while Clark sent a trademark karate-kick volley past Chicago Fire FC in a 2-0 victory.
Nani’s solo effort served as his second goal of the 2021 campaign. Since joining Orlando in 2019, the former Portugal national team star has 20 goals and 15 assists through 52 games.
Does Nani have more magic in store? Orlando will surely hope so when New York City FC come to town on Saturday (6 pm ET | ESPN, ESPN Deportes) for a rematch of their wild penalty-kick loss against the Lions in Round One of the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs.
