Almost 20 matches into the 2021 MLS regular season, few players—if any—have been more devastating than Sporting Kansas City winger Daniel Salloi.
The 25-year-old Sporting KC Academy product has performed at a consistently high level since Week 1, blossoming into one of the league’s most prolific attackers.
Salloi has earned MLS All-Star recognition for his rampant displays—and fairly so—but will the honors stop there for the Hungarian forward? Does he have a shot at becoming the second Kansas City player alongside the legendary Preki to take home MLS MVP honors?
Only time will tell, but through the first four months of the MLS campaign, Salloi has built a statistical resume that stands unrivaled in Major League Soccer. Consider the following.
- Salloi is tied for the MLS lead with 17 combined goals (11) and assists (six).
- He ranks third in the MLS Golden Boot race, two behind leader Raul Ruidiaz.
- His 11 non-penalty goals are the most in MLS.
- He is tied for fourth on the league’s assist chart with six.
- He is tied for the MLS lead with five game-winning goals.
- He is tied for second in MLS with three game-winning assists, meaning he has scored or assisted on eight of Sporting’s 11 game-winning goals this season.
- He has scored or assisted in five straight MLS matches, in seven of his last eight, and in 10 of his last 13.
- According to FBRef.com, he ranks fourth in MLS with 8.0 expected goals, a total he has outperformed by three goals.
- According to FBRef.com, he ranks sixth in MLS with 10 goal-creating actions, defined as the two offensive actions directly leading to a goal, such as passes, dribbles and drawing fouls. He also ranks sixth with 19 carries into the penalty area.
- He ranks third in MLS with 97 touches in the opponent’s box.
- According to Opta, he ranks third among MLS forwards with 27 chances created.
Salloi’s latest game-changing performance came Wednesday night when he tallied a secondary assist on Alan Pulido’s opener and bagged a brilliant second-half strike in a 2-0 road victory over FC Dallas. The result vaulted Sporting back into first place in the Western Conference ahead of two important regular season matches this week—a Wednesday home tilt against the Portland Timbers at 7:30 p.m. CT (tickets) and a Saturday trip to Minnesota United FC at 2:30 p.m. CT.
“Just look at what (Daniel) is doing right now,” Sporting captain Johnny Russell said after Saturday’s win over Dallas. “Quite honestly, he’s a little bit untouchable right now. Everything he’s hitting is going in. That’s what we knew was there.
“He’s absolutely flying and producing for us. Hopefully that continues until the end of the season. I’m sure that it will because he’s loving it right now. He’s loving playing and scoring goals. Hopefully he keeps that going and if he does, we’re going to be right up there.”
