Portland Timbers Midfielder Diego Valeri Voted MLS Player of the Week
NEW YORK
(Monday, September 21, 2020)
– Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Week for the 12
th
week of the 2020 MLS season.
Valeri powered Portland to a dominant 6-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday behind two goals and an assist, the ninth regular season multi-goal performance of his MLS career. Valeri now has six goals and five assists in the 2020 regular season, each mark tied for sixth-most in the league, while his combined 11 goals and assists are tied for fifth-most. Portland is tied for fourth in the Western Conference standings with 18 points (5-4-3 overall record).
Portland took a 1-0 lead in the 25
th
minute when Valeri finished a penalty kick with a right-footed shot to the bottom left corner (
watch goal
). Valeri then scored his second goal of the match in the 57
th
minute to give Portland a 2-1 advantage. Diego Chara sent a pass to the top of the box, as Valeri found the ball and fired a right-footed shot that pinged off a pair of San Jose defenders into the back of the net (
watch goal
).
The Argentine then registered an assist in the 85
th
minute to increase Portland’s lead to 5-1 when he sent a perfectly placed corner kick into the box where Julio Cascante finished with a header (
watch goal
).
Portland continues action this week on Wednesday when hosting Seattle Sounders FC (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+), before facing Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Sunday at Providence Park (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+ / TSN2).
The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week 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 a Twitter fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
