Atlanta United's king has returned for Decision Day presented by AT&T, and he's back to his scoring ways.
Josef Martinez made a dramatic return to the Five Stripes' starting lineup for their regular-season finale on Sunday, leading the line vs. the New England Revolution at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (4 pm ET | TV & streaming info). He only needed 49 minutes to find the back of the net, as he slotted home a through ball from Julian Gressel to make it 2-1. The tally gave Martinez 27 goals on the year.
The Venezuelan striker sustained a knee and ankle injury in the Five Stripes' 3-1 win over San Jose on Sept. 21 and was originally feared to be sidelined for at least the rest of the regular season. He returned to full training activities earlier this week, however, and head coach Frank de Boer said Martinez would have the final word on how he'd be used vs. the Revs.
The 2018 MLS Golden Boot winner, Martinez was the cornerstone of ATLUTD's march to last year's MLS Cup championship and has been one of the league's most driven and prolific scorers since his arrival in 2017.
