Portland Timbers midfielder Sebastian Blanco showed his game-changing ability in Week 11, earning Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire honors as a result.
The Argentine No. 10 took over Saturday’s 7-2 win vs. Sporting Kansas City, becoming the first player in Timbers history and the only MLS player since 2020 to record at least two goals and two assists in a game.
Those 2g/2a efforts, which included a vintage golazo, saw Portland score seven goals for the first time in club history and become the first club to do so since D.C. United on July 3, 2021. Blanco, a 34-year-old Designated Player, is in his sixth season with Portland.
Blanco is the first Timbers player to earn Player of the Week recognition this year and the first to do so since Jeremy Ebobisse in Week 16 of 2020. Blanco has won three MLS Player of the Week awards in his career, which is the third-most in Timbers history behind Diego Valeri (five) and Fanendo Adi (four).
Portland will look to win consecutive games for the first time this season when they travel to face the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday evening (10:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+).
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 voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
