By Favian Renkel and Justin Ruderman
Welcome back to Week No. 25 of Justin and Favian’s Weekly MLS Awards where SBI staff writers Justin Ruderman and Favian Renkel bring you a glimpse at the best of each week in MLS.
The league was back in full swing following the international break with the hottest rivalry from each conference on tap. One of them delivered while the other did not.
Here is a closer look at the action:
Player of the Week
Justin Ruderman: Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy)
In the first two El Trafico meetings of the season, LAFC shut down LA Galaxy’s star playmaker en route to consecutive 2-1 victories over their bitter rivals. Halfway through Saturday’s match in Carson, the same storyline looked to be unfolding with the visitors up 2-0 as Puig struggled to make an impact on the match once again.
Since you’re reading this right now, obviously things changed.
Puig ended up assisting the equalizer and the winner before hammering home a worldie of his own and ripping his shirt off in celebration of a massive victory for the Galaxy. If Major League Soccer’s most successful club is going to make a run at a historic sixth MLS Cup, Puig will need to replicate his second-half impact come playoffs.
https://x.com/lagalaxy/status/1835207645449593323?s=46&t=RYkAvZq2rO8cSWoliJfb5A
Favian Renkel: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF)
No one expected Lionel Messi to start in the match against the Philadelphia Union, but Tata Martino shocked the world when he included Major League Soccer’s most important player in the starting lineup after a 105-day absence from MLS action. Messi was thrown straight into the fire and thrived. With two goals and an assist, even after Inter Miami fell behind early, there wasn’t a hint of doubt in the minds of the Herons.
Messi is now among the top five goal scorers in MLS, just five goals behind leader Christian Benteke, despite having played only 13 games this season. He’s already back in contention for both MVP and the Golden Boot.
Don’t be surprised if we see Lionel Messi crowned the Landon Donovan MVP by the end of the season.
Young Player of the Week
JR: Georgios Koutsias (Chicago Fire)
Less than three minutes after entering a 1-1 game as a substitute for the Chicago Fire, Georgios Koutsias headed home the winning goal to down New York Red Bulls at Soldier Field and keep his team in the hunt for a playoff spot.
Koutsias had an underwhelming first half of the season but including a goal during the international break with Greece U21s, the 20-year-old striker has found form with five goals in his last six games for club and country. There is a good argument he should be starting alongside Cuypers for the remainder of the season (as long as he keeps his shirt tucked in).
FR: Owen Wolff (Austin FC)
Owen Wolff made a big impact in just 20 minutes of play, leaving a lasting impression on MLS. A slick first touch set up a one-on-one with the defender, whom he skillfully shook off before calmly slotting the ball past Toronto FC goalkeeper Sean Johnson. His stats were impressive for a 19-year-old coming off the bench: 7/8 passes (87.5%), 1 key pass, 2/4 dribbles (50%), 1 cross, and 1 recovery.
Goal of the Week
JR: Edwin Cerrillo
In Edwin Cerrillo’s seventh season in the top flight, he finally scored his first MLS goal, and what a way to do it. From the D at the top of the box, Cerrillo put his laces through a thunderbolt finish to equalize El Trafico past Hugo Lloris into the top left corner.
For my money, Cerrillo has been Galaxy’s most underappreciated player this season — partly due to his underappreciated position on the field as he noted in his postgame presser — so it is wonderful to see the 23-year-old find joy and recognition a year after leaving an unhappy situation at FC Dallas.
FR: Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy)
Riqui Puig talks the talk and backs it up. He’s highly active on X, using every receipt as fuel to prove analysts, fans, and journalists wrong.
Heading into this match, Puig had zero goal contributions in his last three El Tráfico clashes.
Here’s what happened.
Team of the Week
JR: LA Galaxy
My two previous picks, Riqui Puig and Edwin Cerrillo, combined alongside Dejan Joveljić to drive LA Galaxy to another memorable El Trafico comeback reminiscent of that produced by Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the inaugural version of this heated rivalry.
The passion, skill, and a bit of fighting returned to El Trafico in Carson as Galaxy mounted a four-goal second half to erase a two-goal halftime deficit against an LAFC team that had not dropped a point from a winning position at halftime all season (previously 11-0-0).
With the victory, Galaxy extended their lead over LAFC at the top of the Western Conference to seven points while securing a playoff berth and returning destiny to their own hands despite the Black and Gold’s two games in hand. Come playoffs, home-field advantage could prove the difference for a team who is yet to lose at Dignity Health Sports Park in 14 games this season.
FR: Inter Miami CF
The magic number is three: if Inter Miami wins their next three matches, they will secure the Supporters’ Shield. Neither Cincinnati, Columbus, nor LA Galaxy can catch them, as Miami holds the tiebreaker in total wins.
The Herons could be in for a haul of silverware over the next six games. Tata Martino is on the verge of winning Head Coach of the Year, Luis Suárez is a lock for MLS Newcomer of the Year, and both Messi and Suárez are in the race for the Golden Boot and MVP.
While Inter Miami’s backline is battered, Lionel Messi is healthy—and that’s all that matters heading into the final six matches.
Miami is also 12 points away from breaking the MLS single-season points record of 73, set by the New England Revolution.
We are possibly looking at the best MLS team of all time when it is all said and done.
Best thing we saw this week
JR: El Rey Returns
On the final day before the MLS roster freeze deadline, LAFC finally struck a deal with free agent club legend Carlos Vela to return to the club for the remainder of the 2024 season with a club option for the 2025 season.
It is difficult to know what to expect from arguably the greatest MLS player ever given the fact he hasn’t played a competitive match in nine months while traveling Europe but Vela will provide the Black and Gold a boost simply by being in the locker room. At the beginning of the season, with Vela out of contract, neither his teammates nor staff would touch his LAFC locker in hopes of a return like this.
Vela will get at least one more shot at lifting a trophy with LAFC in the U.S. Open Cup Final at the end of the month but his biggest contribution of all may be sticking around next season to help entice his good friend Antoine Griezmann to LA with fellow Frenchman Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud.
FR: San Diego FC appoints first manager
Mikey Varas has been named head coach of the expansion franchise San Diego FC, set to debut in MLS in 2025, fresh off his interim stint with the USMNT. With the club linked to several ambitious rumors, San Diego FC has the chance to make a major impact in Southern California, poised to compete with El Trafico rivals. Varas will have the opportunity to lead a competitive side in the Western Conference, bolstered by one of the best Mexican players to ever feature in MLS.
Previously, Varas made a strong impression as head coach of the U-20 Men’s National Team, appointed in November 2021. He led the team to an 8-3-3 record over his first 14 months, highlighted by a dominant run to the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship title.
I jhave been impressed with John Nelson, since he was on the US U17 team. He is a natural left-sided defender who did well at UNC, was drafted by Dallas only to serve as backup for Hollingshead. It was a role he was not well-suited for, He is an instinctive defender who seldom got lost and was always in a good position to defend but was a bit too reluctant to go forward. His speed is not what people expect of a wingback. He bounced to Cincinnati and then to LA Galaxy. Only the Galaxy used him as the left back in a 3-back system. It is a role he excels at. He can keep the game in. front of him and snuff out attacks before they become dangerous. I thought he did very well against LAFC’s attackers. If he were bigger, he would be a natural at any CB position.