Inter Miami CF forward Luis Suárez was voted the MLS Player of the Matchday for Matchday 29 of the 2024 regular season, marking his third POTM award.
Suárez earns the honors following his sterling offensive performance in the record-breaking 2-0 win over FC Cincinnati this past Saturday, Aug. 24 at Chase Stadium, helping Inter Miami become the third-fastest team to secure a spot in the postseason in a 34-game MLS season, doing so within just 26 games. The striker netted a brace in the first six minutes of the match to lead Inter Miami’s victory.
The Uruguayan legend now has 14 goals and five assists in his debut season with Inter Miami, sitting just two goals behind the Club’s single-season MLS record, held by Gonzalo Higuaín (16 in 2022). Suárez’s 0.93 goals per 90 minutes ranks third in MLS among all players with at least 10 goals and he joins LAFC’s Mateusz Bogusz as the only players in the league to outperform his expected goals by more than five goals (14 goals on 8.7 expected goals).
The first historic moment of Saturday’s win over Cincinnati in Matchday 29 came just 31 seconds in, when Suárez broke two Club records with one goal. Marcelo Weigandt and Yannick Bright played a swift one-two, freeing the Argentine right back down the right wing to whip a cross in for Suárez. The Uruguayan talisman calmly took a touch off his chest and fired a strike inside the near post to make it 1-0. The goal was the fastest in a match in Club history, and also set the new record for most single-season goals across all competitions for an Inter Miami player with 17.
Just a few minutes later, Suaréz continued his red-hot form, expanding on the record he just set. A quick transition move launched by Matías Rojas saw nifty interplay between him and the striker, resulting in the creative Paraguayan player sliding a ball into the box for Suárez, whose first touch was another strike past the Cincinnati goalkeeper to make it 2-0 at Chase Stadium. The goal was Suárez’s 18th across all competitions for Inter Miami in 2024, and 14th in MLS play.
This is the third time Suárez has been named MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra this season (Matchdays 3 and 5), joining teammate Lionel Messi and Real Salt Lake forward Cristian ‘Chicho’ Arango as the only players to do so. Inter Miami is the first team in MLS history to have two different players win the MLS Player of the Matchday honor at least three times in a single season.
The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra is selected each matchday 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 an X (formerly known as Twitter) fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.
