Goal scorers Alan Pulido and Daniel Salloi may have grabbed the headlines in Sporting Kansas City's big 2-0 road win over FC Dallas on Saturday, but it was savvy center back who earned honors today with a selection to the MLS Team of the Week presented by Audi.
That accolade goes to Spanish center back Andreu Fontas, whose heady defensive performance at Toyota Stadium propelled Sporting to their second consecutive clean sheet.
Over the course of 90 faultless minutes, Fontas recorded game-highs in clearances (four), passes (88), passes completed (78) and touches (95). For good measure, he added three successful duels, three recoveries and two interceptions as Sporting returned to the summit of the Western Conference with their sixth away victory of 2021.
Pulido's impact on proceedings didn't go unnoticed, as he landed a spot on the Team of the Week bench. The 30-year-old striker fired Sporting ahead in the 12th minute and tabbed a secondary assist on Salloi's strike in the 63rd minute.
Team of the Week (3-4-3, left to right): Jonathan Klinsmann (LA) – Francisco Calvo (CHI), Andreu Fontas (SKC), James Sands (NYC) – Cole Bassett (COL), Ezequiel Barco (ATL), Victor Wanyama (MTL), Tajon Buchanan (NE) – Valentin Castellanos (NYC), CJ Sapong (NSH), Raul Ruidiaz (SEA)
Coach: Brian Schmetzer (SEA)
Bench: William Yarbrough (COL), Mamadou Fall (LAFC), Luka Stojanovic (CHI), Albert Rusnak (RSL), Alex Muyl (NSH), Fredy Montero (SEA), Alan Pulido (SKC)
Fontas and Sporting (11-4-4, 37 points) will continue their busy stretch of seven matches in 22 days by taking the field Wednesday night against the Portland Timbers (7-9-2, 23 points) at Children's Mercy Park. Tickets for the Western Conference clash are available at SeatGeek.com and the first 5,000 fans through the stadium gates will receive a commemorative felt pennant courtesy of match sponsor Academy Sports + Outdoors.
Bally Sports Kansas City Plus, Bally Sports Midwest Plus, BallySports.com and the Bally Sports app will show three hours of live coverage starting at 7 p.m. CT, while the Sporting KC app will provide additional in-game updates and exclusive offers. Listeners can also catch the action live locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM, with The Final Whistle postgame show immediately following on 810 WHB.
