Any post-Leagues Cup cobwebs were no match for Atlanta United forward Giorgos Giakoumakis, who has been voted MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire for Matchday 27 of the 2023 season.
Giakoumakis scored both of Atlanta’s goals in their 2-0 victory at Seattle Sounders FC on Sunday evening. With his brace, the 28-year-old Greek striker is now tied for second in the Golden Boot presented by Audi race with 12 goals this season.
The Designated Player, signed this offseason from Scottish powerhouse side Celtic FC, opened the scoring in the 11th minute when powering home Brooks Lennon’s corner kick. He doubled the lead and wrapped up all three points in the 65th minute with another headed finish, this time via Thiago Almada’s service.
Giakoumakis’ 12 goals are the second-most by an Atlanta United player through his first 18 career games, trailing only club legend Josef MartÃnez, who had 18 goals in his first 18 MLS games. Giakoumakis (36 shots) and St. Louis CITY SC’s Nicholas Gioacchini (36 shots) are the only players in MLS this season to score at least 10 goals on fewer than 40 shots.
Giakoumakis becomes the third different Atlanta player to be named MLS Player of the Matchday this season, joining Almada (Matchdays 1 and 4) and Caleb Wiley (Matchday 3).
Atlanta will look to win consecutive matches when hosting Nashville SC on Saturday (7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass). They’re seventh in the Eastern Conference table (38 points), on track to make the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs.
The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire is selected each matchday 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.
