Ex-MVP Hany Mukhtar has once again bowed out early in the MLS play-offs with Nashville. And Kai Wagner’s season could also be over – due to a suspension
He was the top scorer and most valuable player in the MLS last year, but this year Hany Mukhtar has to leave both honors to others. After a weak final spurt for Nashville SC, the 28-year-old Berlin native’s season is over early, just like last year. Orlando City also won the second duel of the “best of three” series 1:0 and thus advanced to the conference semi-finals.
While Orlando underlined its status as the best away team this season and celebrated its sixth win in a row, Nashville went without a goal for the sixth time in its last seven attempts. Mukhtar, who finished last year’s regular season as the top scorer with 23 goals and netted 15 times in 2023, was also unlucky: His supposed equalizer in the 38th minute was disallowed for offside. Colombian Ivan Angulo was the match-winner with his golden goal (6th). Orlando’s next opponent will be Columbus Crew or Atlanta United, who tied the series at 1-1 with a 4-2 home win.
Wagner violates anti-discrimination guidelines
Meanwhile, last year’s finalists Philadelphia Union go into their second clash with New England Revolution this Thursday (1:00 CET) with a 1-0 lead – but without Kai Wagner. The 26-year-old former Schalke player, who moved from Würzburg to Philadelphia back in February 2019, was handed a three-match ban by the MLS for “violating the league’s anti-discrimination guidelines” in the first clash with New England (3-1).
According to media reports, Wagner, who also has to undergo an educational program that has already started, is said to have used an anti-Asian slur against former HSV and Hannover professional Bobby Wood. According to the league, the defender showed understanding and a willingness to “participate in a reparation process to make amends for the damage done.”
