Inter Miami midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro has been voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Week for Week 21 of the MLS season.
Pizarro netted a brace, his first for Inter Miami, leading the team to an emphatic 3-1 win over Toronto FC at DRV PNK Stadium on Saturday.
Pizarro, who became Inter Miami’s first-ever All-Star today, also becomes just the second player in Club history to be named MLS Player of the Week, with Gonzalo Higuaín earning the honor in Week 5 of this season.
In the 15th minute of Saturday’s match, the Mexican midfielder received a pass at the top of the box, faked a shot and cut past a defender, and finally tucked a curling left-footed strike inside the far post for an early lead.
In the 48th minute, he put the game beyond reach for Toronto, latching onto a long ball behind the defense and delicately chipping a ball into the back of the net from outside of the box and over the onrushing goalkeeper.
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.
Pizarro will also represent the league in the 2021 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T 5G set for Tuesday, Aug. 24 (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, FS1 / TUDN / TSN / TVA Sports), and the 2021 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target set to be played on Wednesday, Aug. 25 at Banc of California Stadium (9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, FS1 / Univision / TSN / TVA Sports) against the best LIGA MX players.
Inter Miami returns to action on Friday, Aug. 27 at 8:30 p.m. ET when it travels to Exploria Stadium to take on Orlando City SC.
