What a weekend it was for Sporting Kansas City’s front line.
Krisztian Nemeth stormed to a hat-trick, Johnny Russell bagged a brace and Gerso Fernandes assisted twice as Sporting landed haymaker after haymaker in a 7-1 win over the Montreal Impact on Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park.
All three forwards received MLS Team of the Week honors for their performances on Monday, with Nemeth and Gerso among the starting XI and Russell on the bench.
Nemeth, who became the eighth hat-trick hero in Sporting’s regular season history, now has eight goals in seven appearances this season across all competitions. The Hungarian marked his 50th career appearance for the club with his 23rd, 24th and 25th goals in a Sporting uniform.
Gerso is one of four MLS Player of the Week candidates alongside Houston Dynamo winger Alberth Elis, Toronto FC debutant playmaker Alejandro Pozuelo and LAFC forward Carlos Vela. The diminutive winger assisted first-half goals to Nemeth and Felipe Gutierrez while wreaking havoc on the Montreal backline, recording game-highs in dribbles completed (four), fouls won (five) and duels won (nine).
Russell, whose opening goal on Saturday is one of five nominees for AT&T MLS Goal of the Week, delivered another swashbuckling display on the right flank. The Scot scored twice, added an assist to Nemeth and now has four goals in his last four games for club and country. Russell notched his first Scotland goal in a victory at San Marino during the international break last month.
With a record-breaking triumph under their belts, Russell and Sporting will now shift their attention to the Concacaf Champions League Semifinals versus Mexican giants CF Monterrey. The first leg of the series is slated for Thursday at world-class Estadio BBVA Bancomer in Guadalupe, Mexico, kicking off at 9 p.m. CT with an English-language live stream on YahooSports.com and a Spanish-language broadcast on Univision Deportes.
Sporting will then host the decisive return leg on Thursday, April 11, at 8 p.m. CT. Tickets for that match remain available at SeatGeek.com.
