Amid a torrid start to his second season in MLS with the LA Galaxy, Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez has added another early-season accolade to the list, as the forward has been voted the MLS Player of the Month for April and May.
Hernandez was one of the main catalysts for the Galaxy's fast start in their first year under new head coach Greg Vanney, striking for seven goals and one assist, helping his team to a 5-2-0 record that leaves them third on the Western Conference table. It's been part of a remarkable bounce-back for Hernandez in his second year in the league, after he scored two goals in 12 matches in his debut MLS campaign in 2020.
Hernandez has been in form from the get-go to start 2021, first striking for a brace in the Galaxy's first game of the season — a 3-2 victory over Inter Miami CF that ended with his first Player of the Week honors of the season. He followed that up with another POTW nod the very next week after striking for a hat trick in a 3-2 win over the New York Red Bulls.
Hernandez became just the second player in MLS history to have five goals through the season’s first two games, joining former Houston Dynamo FC forward Brian Ching, who scored five goals in the first two games in club history in 2006. Hernandez's seven goals through the Galaxy's first five games were tied for the second-most to start a season in league history, just one off the league record set by Landon Donovan, who netted eight goals in the first five games in 2008 for the Galaxy.
Hernandez then added his sixth goal of the season, adding an assist as he was involved in both Galaxy goals in a 2-1 win over El Trafico rivals LAFC on May 8 at Dignity Health Sports Park, before scoring his seventh of the season the following weekend in a 2-0 home win against Austin FC.
The MLS Player of the Month is voted upon by a panel of select national media members in a process conducted by MLS Communications.
