With Portland struggling on the road lately and Real Salt Lake strong at home all season, it was going to take a huge performance for the Timbers to take three points from RSL on Saturday.
Up stepped Sebastian Blanco.
Blanco scored twice and added an assist in Portland's huge 4-1 win over RSL, earning the Alcatel MLS Player of the Week award, as voted on by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR), for Week 32 of the MLS season.
The 30-year-old set up Jeremy Ebobisse with a delightful bending cross for a tap-in from six yards out in the first half to open the scoring. After RSL equalized in the 55th minute, Blanco got to work again.
He was quickest to react to a short clearance in the 70th minute, took two powerful touches forward before lacing a shot to the bottom corner past Nick Rimando. Three minutes later, he put the game out of reach by scoring his second goal, a first-time strike into the top corner from a difficult angle.
It is the second time in a month's span that Blanco won Player of the Week honors, after grabbing assists on both goals in their 2-0 win over the Colorado Rapids in September.
Portland return to action after the international break on Oct. 21 at home against RSL (5 pm ET | Full TV & streaming info).
The Alcatel MLS Player of the Week is chosen each week of the regular season by members of the North American Soccer Reporters. The organization includes print, television, radio and online journalists who cover domestic men's soccer in the United States and Canada.
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