Following a penalty-kick brace that powered a big 2-0 midweek victory over Nashville SC, Philadelphia Union star Dániel Gazdag has garnered MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire honors for Matchday 25 of the 2023 season.
The Hungarian midfielder struck twice from the spot to pace the visiting Union to their fourth road win of the season, moving Jim Curtin's group to the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference table (11W-7L-4D, 37 points).
Gazdag continues to be automatic from the spot for the Union, improving his penalty-kick conversion rate to a perfect 16-for-16, the second-longest unblemished run to start an MLS career behind only Seattle Sounders FC captain Nicolas Lodeiro (18-for-18). He now has eight penalty-kick goals this season, becoming just the fifth player in MLS history to achieve the milestone and the first since Ola Kamara managed nine for D.C. United in 2021.
Matchday 25's two PK finishes put Gazdag in striking distance of history, as he's now just one penalty kick shy of tying the single-season MLS record of nine, which is shared by three different players. The 27-year-old's spot-kicks came in the 40th and 84th minutes of the wild match at GEODIS Park, which saw Nashville's Shaq Moore and Philadelphia's Julián Carranza sent off with a double red card after a scuffle in second-half stoppage time.
Gazdag is the third Philadelphia player to receive Player of the Matchday in 2023, joining Carranza in Matchdays 15 and 17 and Mikael Uhre in Matchday 8. The Union are the only MLS club to earn four total Player of the Matchday honors this season and have now accumulated seven across the last two seasons. It's Gazdag's second time winning the distinction (Matchday 27 in 2022), making him the fourth player in club history to win multiple times in his career.
The Union will look to build on their strong road result as they return to action in Matchday 26 hosting Eastern Conference foe New York City FC at Subaru Park on Saturday (7:30 ET | MLS Season Pass).
The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire is selected each matchday 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.
