Didier Drogba hasn’t exactly had trouble finding his feet in MLS.
The legendary striker has been absolute dynamite since joining the Impact this summer, scoring 11 goals in 11 games to lead Montreal – which had been in a battle for sixth when he arrived – into the 2015 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.
He was particularly terrific down the stretch, scoring four goals in five games in October and bagging a brace in the Impact’s 2-1 home win over Toronto FC on Sunday to lift Montreal to the Eastern Conference’s third-seed.
On Wednesday, he was honored for his efforts, winning the Etihad Airways MLS Player of the Month award for the second-straight month. Drogba beat out Portland Timbers striker Fanendo Adi for the honors, taking home 55.25 percent of the vote to Adi’s 26.65 percent.
Columbus Crew SC winger Ethan Finlay was a distant third, finishing with 7.2 percent of the tally after registering three goals in three games in October. Two of the more influential players from the top two teams in the league rounded out the voting, with New York Red Bulls midfielder Sacha Kljestan (5.58 percent) taking fourth and FC Dallas playmaker Mauro Diaz (5.32 percent) finishing fifth.
All five of the Player of the Month candidates will participate in the playoffs, with Drogba and Adi playing in Knockout Round action on Thursday and Finlay, Kljestan and Diaz beginning their runs this Sunday.