NEW YORK (Monday, August 15, 2022) – Inter Miami CF midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire for the 25th week of the 2022 MLS season.
Pozuelo scored two goals and added an assist in Inter Miami CF’s comeback victory over New York City FC on Saturday, August 13. It marked Pozuelo’s first multi-goal game in an Inter Miami uniform and his second of the season after scoring two goals for Toronto FC vs. Chicago Fire FC (May 28). The 2020 Landon Donovan MLS MVP became the first player in club history to produce at least two goals and one assist in a single match. Pozuelo last did this in his career on April 19, 2019, against Minnesota United FC. With six goals and eight assists on the season, Pozuelo has now recorded at least 14 goal contributions in three of his four MLS seasons.
After falling behind 1-0 in the first half, Pozuelo played a quick give-and-go with Bryce Duke that resulted in him firing a terrific curling effort from just outside the 18-yard box and past the NYCFC goalkeeper to tie up the match (Watch Here). In the 63rd minute, the Spaniard added an assist when he flicked the ball on with his head to Gonzalo Higuaín, who chipped a pass for Ariel Lassiter to smash the game-tying goal into the net (Watch Here). With the game even at 2-2 in the 84th minute, Pozuelo darted to a misplaced NYCFC pass and slotted home a near-post finish to complete Inter Miami’s comeback victory (Watch Here).
In his last four games for Miami, Pozuelo has totaled two goals and three assists, helping the Herons to an unbeaten 2-0-2 record. His goal in the 84th minute was the club’s eighth at home in the last 10 minutes of a match, which is tied for the second most in the league. Of his 28 career MLS goals, 21 have come at home, including all six in 2022.
Pozuelo is the third different Miami player to win MLS Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire in 2022, joining forwards Leonardo Campana (Week 6) and Gonzalo Higuaín (Week 23). This is the second time Pozuelo has earned the honor in his career (Week 8 of 2019). Inter Miami is the first team this season to earn three MLS Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire honors. The last time a team had three different players win the award in the same season was in 2021 with the New England Revolution (Adam Buksa, Carles Gil, and Matt Turner) and the San Jose Earthquakes (Cade Cowell, Chris Wondolowski, and Eduardo López).
Miami will look to stretch their unbeaten run to five games when they host Toronto FC – Pozuelo’s former club – at DRV PNK Stadium on Saturday, August 20 (8 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+).
The MLS Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire 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.
