Josef Martinez’s sensational start to his MLS career continued on Thursday, when it was revealed that the Atlanta United FC striker won AT&T MLS Goal of the Week for his second goal in Atlanta’s 4-0 win against Chicago last Saturday.
Martinez won Goal of the Week for his 82nd-minute strike that gave Atlanta their final 4-0 lead. The 23-year-old darted behind the Fire defense and collected a Yamil Asad through ball in the area, rounding goalkeeper Jorge Bava before finishing a tight-angle shot from virtually on the end line. The strike was the fifth of the year for Martinez, who was voted Alcatel MLS Player of the Week for Week 2 of the season following a hat trick performance in Atlanta’s 6-1 win against Minnesota.
Martinez’s goal won Goal of the Week by a comfortable margin, taking home 45 percent of the vote, 15 percentage points more than the runner-up, Sporting Kansas City midfielder Benny Feilhaber. FC Dallas forward Maximiliano Urruti finished in third with 11 percent of the vote, while LA’s Dave Romney (10 percent) and Toronto’s Jozy Altidore (4 percent) rounded out the top five.
Atlanta, who completed the permanent transfer of Martinez from Italian club Torino on Tuesday, are off this weekend. They’ll return to action next Friday, March 31, when they’ll hit the road to take on the defending MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders (10 pm ET | FS1 in the US, MLS LIVE in Canada).
Click here for the full results of Week 3 Goal of the Week voting and to watch all five nominated strikes.
