Sporting Kansas City captain Johnny Russell was selected to MLS Team of the Matchday this afternoon for Matchday 13 of the 2023 campaign, taking a spot on the bench as one of the top performers during a busy slate of midweek action.
Russell made history on Wednesday by becoming the third Sporting player to eclipse 50 regular season goals for the club, slotting home a slick equalizer in a 1-1 comeback draw against reigning MLS Cup champion LAFC at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
After falling behind on a 13th-minute goal from MLS Golden Boot leader Denis Bouanga, Sporting conjured a quicky reply in the 20th minute. Forward Alan Pulido received a throw-in 35 yards from goal, powered into the central channel and slipped a pass to midfielder Remi Walter near the top of the box. The Frenchman then laid it off to Russell, who promptly slithered past a slew of defenders before burying a left-footed shot under LAFC goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic for his second goal of the campaign and his 50th regular season tally in a Sporting uniform.
In addition to finding the back of the net, Russell won five of eight duels and staked three recoveries as Sporting extended their unbeaten run to three league matches since the start of May.
To cap a busy stretch of five matches in 14 days, Sporting will now travel directly from Los Angeles to St. Louis on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s highly anticipated showdown against expansion rivals St. Louis city SC (6-4-1, 19 points) at CityPark. Kickoff is slated for 8:55 p.m. CT with live coverage beginning at 8:30 p.m. CT on FS1, Apple TV, Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
