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Philadelphia Union Midfielder Dániel Gazdag Voted MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra for Matchday 28

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NEW YORK (Monday, July 22, 2024) – Philadelphia Union midfielder Dániel Gazdag was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra for Matchday 28 of the 2024 MLS season.

Gazdag scored his third career MLS hat trick as Philadelphia defeated Nashville SC, 3-0, on Saturday evening at Subaru Park (Watch MLS Wrap-Up Discuss Gazdag and Philadelphia’s Performance). Following Union forward Tai Baribo’s hat trick on Wednesday, Gazdag’s three-goal performance marked the sixth time in MLS history that a club had two different players score a hat trick in consecutive games and the first since Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi in 2019. Gazdag’s eight multi-goal games and his three hat tricks are both the most in club history. Gazdag’s first goal in the win was also his 80th goal contribution with Philadelphia, joining Sébastien Le Toux (100) as the only players in club history with at least 80 combined goals and assists.

The Hungarian midfielder opened the scoring in the 10th minute following a quick passing sequence from Leon Flach and Quinn Sullivan (Watch Here). He secured a first-half brace in the 39th minute, as a crafty touch from Mikael Uhre found a free-running Gazdag in the box (Watch Here). He completed his hat trick in the 89th minute, as he took advantage of a Nashville misplay and weaved around the goalkeeper before slotting home his third (Watch Here).

Gazdag and Baribo become the first pair of teammates to be named MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra in back-to-back Matchdays since Giorgos Giakoumakis and Thiago Almada in 2023 (Matchdays 27 and 28). Gazdag is the only player in MLS and the first player in Philadelphia history to earn at least one Player of the Matchday honor in each of the past three seasons.

The Union now turn their attention to Leagues Cup as they begin group action in East 4 on Saturday, July 27 against Charlotte FC at Subaru Park (8:00 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).

The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra 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 an X (formerly known as Twitter) fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.

2024 MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra Winners

Matchday

Player

Club

Matchdays 1 and 2

Christian Benteke

D.C. United

Matchday 3

Luis Suárez

Inter Miami CF

Matchday 4

Giorgos Giakoumakis

Atlanta United

Matchday 5

Luis Suárez

Inter Miami CF

Matchday 6

Lewis Morgan

New York Red Bulls

Matchday 7

Chicho Arango

Real Salt Lake

Matchday 8

Raúl Ruidíaz

Seattle Sounders FC

Matchday 9

Lionel Messi

Inter Miami CF

Matchday 10

Chicho Arango

Real Salt Lake

Matchday 11

Lionel Messi

Inter Miami CF

Matchday 12

Lionel Messi

Inter Miami CF

Matchday 13

Christian Benteke

D.C. United

Matchday 14

Dénis Bouanga

Los Angeles Football Club

Matchday 15

Federico Bernardeschi

Toronto FC

Matchday 16

Luca Orellano

FC Cincinnati

Matchday 17

Saba Lobjanidze

Atlanta United

Matchday 18

Chicho Arango

Real Salt Lake

Matchday 19

Aljaž Ivačič

New England Revolution

Matchday 20

Yuya Kubo

FC Cincinnati

Matchday 21

Petar Musa

FC Dallas

Matchday 22

Cucho Hernández

Columbus Crew

Matchday 23

Brian White

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Matchday 24

Hugo Cuypers

Chicago Fire FC

Matchday 25

Diego Luna

Real Salt Lake

Matchday 26

Ashley Westwood

Charlotte FC

Matchday 27

Tai Baribo

Philadelphia Union

Matchday 28

Dániel Gazdag

Philadelphia Union