NEW YORK (Monday, May 16, 2022) – Portland Timbers midfielder Sebastián Blanco was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire for the 11th week of the 2022 MLS season.
After heading into halftime with a 1-0 advantage, Blanco led a second-half masterclass for the Timbers, both scoring and assisting twice in the first 24 minutes to lead Portland’s 7-2 victory over Sporting Kansas City. Blanco became the first player in Timbers history and the only MLS player since 2020 to record at least two goals and two assists in a game.
Blanco scored just 28 seconds into the second half when he rocketed a one-time volley into the net from Cristhian Paredes’ lofted through ball (Watch Here). Six minutes later, the Argentine got his second of the match on the counterattack as he cut onto his right foot and curled the ball around the defender, past the goalkeeper and perfectly into the side netting (Watch Here). With a 3-0 lead, Blanco went from goal scorer to distributor when he delicately played a pass to Nathan Fogaça, who slotted home his first MLS goal for a four-goal cushion (Watch Here). After conceding a goal to Sporting, the Timbers regained their four-goal advantage when Blanco played an intricate give-and-go with Eryk Williamson, which set up Blanco’s perfect cross to Fogaça for the lunging finish (Watch Here).
With his performance, Blanco helped the Timbers score seven goals for the first time in club history and become the first club to do so since D.C. United on July 3, 2021. The Timbers have scored at least six goals on four separate occasions since the start of the 2020 season with Blanco recording two assists in half of those games. Additionally, his four goal contributions against Sporting were a career best.
Blanco is the first Timbers player to win MLS Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire this year and the first to do so since Jeremy Ebobisse in Week 16 of 2020. Blanco has won three MLS Player of the Week awards in his career, which is the third-most in Timbers history behind Diego Valeri (five) and Fanendo Adi (four).
Portland will look to win consecutive games for the first time this season when they travel to face the San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park on Wednesday, May 18 (10:30 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+).
The MLS Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire 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.
