Records

Josef Martinez is the new Roger Maris. The new Mark McGwire. The new Barry Bonds. Atlanta United’s Josef Martinez now owns the MLS single-season scoring record.

Martinez scored in the 74th minute, his 28th goal this season, breaking a four-way tie for the MLS single-season scoring record. The record was previously held by Tampa Bay Mutiny’s Roy Lassiter (1996), San Jose Earthquakes’ Chris Wondolowski (2012) and New York Red Bulls’ Bradley Wright-Phillips (2014). 

Oh, and it was the match winner, as Atlanta defeated rival Orlando City SC 2-1. 

The North Carolina Courage are the NWSL Shield winners. Again. The decisive match was set to be played on Saturday night but was postponed due to lighting, and when things finally did resume in Cary, North Carolina, Sunday morning, it was just another day at the office for the Courage. The team was able to bag a 3-0 win thanks to second half goals from Debinha and Lynn Williams. 

David Silva made his 250th Premier League appearance and marked the occasion with a stunning free kick in Manchester City’s 6-1 destruction of Huddersfield on Sunday. The 32-year-old Silva joined City from Valencia back in 2010, and the 2018-19 season marks his ninth with the club. 

His afternoon also saw him join a select group of Spaniards to have made 250 appearances in England’s top flight — only Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas, goalkeeper Pepe Reina (now at Milan) and current City assistant coach Mikel Arteta have accomplished the same feat.  

In what can only be described as absolutely nuts, Zenit Saint Petersburg defeated Belarusian side Dinamo Minsk 8-1 to win 8-5 on aggregate in its Europa League qualifying match, constituting the biggest Europa League comeback in 33 years. Dinamo Minsk had won the first leg 4-0 at its home ground, Traktor Stadium. 

How fast is Leroy Sané? The 22-year-old Manchester City winger experienced a somewhat subdued first season in England, but he exploded into life last year after scoring 10 goals and adding 15 assists in 32 Premier League appearances. The native of Essen, Germany, was named the PFA Young Player of the Year for his contributions to City’s march to the title, but he was curiously omitted from manager Joachim Low’s World Cup squad (we all know how that turned out for die Mannschaft).