Season trivia for MLS 2018
It's not all about becoming the top scorer or winning matches - there's also a wealth of fascinating information related to goalscorers and other remarkable records. Below, you'll find trivia and interesting facts from the 2018 MLS season in United States.
Best scoring couple
The top goal-scoring pair, in other words two players where one scored the goal and the other player assisted to it, were Miguel Almirón and Josef Martinez. Together they were behind 8 goals for Atlanta United FC in the 2018 season.
Fastest goalscorer
These players all scored goals in the first minute of a match during the 2018 season:
Fastest hat-trick
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, playing for LA Galaxy, was the player who scored the fastest hat-trick. In the space of 24 minutes, he scored three goals in the match between LA Galaxy-Orlando City SC.
Top goalscorer by calendar month
In July 2018, Josef Martinez (Atlanta United FC) scored 10 goals, which was the most goals in a calendar month of the 2018 season.
Most braces by player
Josef Martinez in Atlanta United FC scored (at least) two goals in a match 8 times and was thus the player who scored the most braces in matches during the 2018 season.
Most first goals in a match
The player who scored the first goal in a match the most times during the 2018 season was Josef Martinez in Atlanta United FC, in total he did it 15 times.
Most last goals in a match
In total, there were 3 players who scored the last goal of the match the most times, 7 times to be precise, and the players who did it were these:
Most penalty goals by player
The best penalty taker in the league during the 2018 season was Josef Martinez, in total he scored 9 penalties for his Atlanta United FC.
Most penalty goals by team
Atlanta United FC was the most effective team of all when it came to penalty goals during the 2018 season, in total they scored 13 of their goals from penalties.
Most stoppage time goals by player
In total, 4 players scored 3 goals in added time, and the players who did so were:
Daniel Salloi (Sporting Kansas City)
Albert Rusnák (Real Salt Lake)
Fafa Picault (Philadelphia Union)
Luis Silva (Real Salt Lake)
Most stoppage time goals by team
When it comes to stoppage time goals, Toronto FC was the best team, in total they scored 7 goals in the final minutes of the match.
Most own goals by player
2 players share the less-than-honourable title of "most own goals" during the 2018 season in MLS. These players each scored 2 own goals and they were Alejandro Fuenmayor (Houston Dynamo) and Julio Cascante (Portland Timbers).
Most own goals by team
5 teams each scored 3 own goals, and the teams that were best at putting the ball into their own net were Vancouver Whitecaps FC, LA Galaxy, New England Revolution, CF Montréal and Portland Timbers.
Players with goals in most consecutive matches
Josef Martinez in Atlanta United FC scored in 9 consecutive matches during the 2018 season, which was the best in the league.
Players with assists in most consecutive matches
It was Kaku in New York Red Bulls who had the longest streak of matches in a row with at least one assist, achieving this in 4 consecutive matches.
Players with most goals in the first half
It was Josef Martinez in Atlanta United FC who scored the most goals in the first half, with a total of 15 goals in the first half of the match.
Players with most goals in the second half
Josef Martinez in Atlanta United FC scored a total of 20 goals in the second half, including stoppage time, which was the best in MLS during the 2018 season.
Most consecutive wins
Seattle Sounders FC was the team with the most consecutive wins during the 2018 season, with a total of 9 wins in a row.
Most matches in a row without losing
Portland Timbers were the team with the longest unbeaten run during the 2018 season, playing 15 straight matches without losing.
Most consecutive losses
Orlando City SC had a streak of 9 consecutive losses, something no other team surpassed in MLS during the 2018 season.
Most matches in a row without a win
Orlando City SC managed the feat of not winning a single match in 13 consecutive matches during the 2018 season, something they did best among all the teams in the league.
Most comebacks from behind to win
The art of turning a deficit in a match into a win is something Orlando City SC were best at during the 2018 season, they came back to win 5 matches in total.
Most blown leads resulting in losses
Taking the lead in matches only to lose is no admirable feat, but San Jose Earthquakes have managed this in 6 matches during the 2018 season, more than any other team in MLS.
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