A Night to Remember in Music City
Nashville SC’s superstar attacker Hany Mukhtar delivered one of the finest performances of his illustrious MLS career, scoring a magnificent hat trick featuring two stunning free kicks to lead his side to a 3-2 victory over LAFC on Sunday night. The German playmaker reminded everyone why he remains one of the most decorated players in league history.
Head coach B.J. Callaghan was effusive in his praise after the match. “I am really proud of him because you need your captain and your Designated Players to step up in the biggest games,” he told reporters. “This is a guy who is playing almost every minute of every game, and for him to come up and put up a Man-of-the-Match performance on the field tonight was exactly what the team needed.”
Historic Milestone
Mukhtar became just the seventh player in MLS history to score five regular-season hat tricks. Even more remarkably, he is the first player to score two direct free-kick goals in the same game since former FC Cincinnati standout Luciano Acosta achieved the feat years ago. The goals were his 99th, 100th, and 101st in all competitions for the Coyotes, cementing his status as a club legend.
“It was a captain’s performance and a DP performance,” said Callaghan. “I guess he did not want to stop at 100 because he blew right past it.” Since Mukhtar arrived in MLS as Nashville’s first-ever Designated Player ahead of their 2020 expansion season, no player has scored more than his 88 regular-season goals.
Title Charge Continues
Sunday’s win pushed Nashville into top spot in the Supporters’ Shield standings with 30 points from a 9-1-3 record, with just one matchday remaining before the 2026 FIFA World Cup break. Remarkably, the club has achieved this while making a run to the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals and dealing with injuries to key contributors.
“To be honest, I had not really thought about having 100 goals or not. That was not in my mind,” said Mukhtar. “But yeah, scoring so many goals for Nashville SC, being the first Designated Player, it is something special. And I do not take that for granted.”
