Atlanta United midfielder Miguel Almirón was voted the Alcatel Major League Soccer Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) for Week 9 following his two-goal performance in Atlanta’s 4-1 win against Montreal Impact at Mercedes Benz-Stadium on April 28.
The 24-year-old Paraguayan is tied for the league lead in goals with teammate Josef Martinez (six), tied for fourth in MLS in assists (four) and leads MLS in shots (47) through eight games. He is one of only two players in MLS with at least five goals and four assists along with New York’s Bradley Wright-Phillips. Atlanta is riding a season-long seven-game unbeaten streak and sits in second place in the Eastern Conference standings with 19 points (6-1-1 record) and a game in hand on New York City FC.
Almirón tied the match at 1-1 from the penalty spot, beating goalkeeper Evan Bush with a shot to his right in the 70th minute (Watch Goal). Then in the 84th minute, Almirón received a pass from Darlington Nagbe, sprinted past defenders in midfield and combined with Martinez before calmly placing a shot past Bush and into the bottom left corner of the net to extend Atlanta’s lead to 3-1 (Watch Goal).
This is Almirón’s third Player of the Week selection after receiving the honor twice in 2017. The Alcatel MLS Player of the Week is chosen each week of the regular season by members of the North American Soccer Reporters. The organization includes print, television, radio and online journalists who cover domestic men's soccer in the United States and Canada.
Atlanta United returns to action Saturday, May 5 at 8:30 p.m. EST at Chicago Fire. The match will be televised on FOX Sports Southeast.
