It was a big week for Atlanta United and the Chicago Fire, as well as for teams that fired their coaches.
MLS Week 11 saw the reigning MLS Cup champions post a pair of victories, extending their run of shutout wins to four, while the Fire also recorded two wins in the week, led by the impressive play of midfielders Nico Gaitan and Aleksandar Katai.
Cristian Roldan made it two weeks in a row with the best goal in MLS, only this time his jaw-dropping finish delivered three points instead of three for the Seattle Sounders.
Here’s a look at the league’s best in Week 11:
Player of the week
Nico Gaitan played a key role in both of the Chicago Fire’s victories last week, against New England and Minnesota United, even though he wound up leaving the win against the Loons with a hamstring injury.
Gaitan beat out teammate Aleksandr Katai, Atlanta United’s Gonzalo Martinez and D.C. United’s Paul Arriola for this week’s honors.
Team of the week
Atlanta United posted shutout victories against Toronto FC and Orlando City, two teams ahead of the Five Stripes in the Eastern Conference standings when the week began.
Atlanta United beat out the Chicago Fire and Philadelphia Union for this week’s honor.
Young player of the week
New York Red Bulls midfielder Cristian Casseres Jr. was a key figure in the Red Bulls’ big road win against FC Dallas, a victory that came with a mostly-reserve lineup for New York. The 19-year-old scored a goal and played tireless defense to preserve the big win, and be recognized as the best player 21 or under in MLS in Week 11.
Casseres beat out FC Dallas’ Jesus Ferreira, LAFC’s Eduard Atuesta and New England’s Tajon Buchanan for this week’s honor.
Goal of the week
As good a goal as Carlos Vela’s late run and finish was for LAFC against the Columbus Crew, the best goal in week 11 went to last week’s winner, Cristian Roldan, who scored the game-winning goal for Seattle against Houston in dramatic fashion:
Absolute Scorcher ?@CristianRoldan gives us a dream start!
SEA 1 | HOU 0 #SEAvHOU pic.twitter.com/rtlBJHOG2w
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) May 12, 2019
Nico Gaitan used to be one of my favorite players; Sad to see him at this level now.