Atlanta United: 3 things to watch this week – Crunch time
By Josh Bouland
2. History can continue
Josef Martinez is still scoring. Despite the loss to Columbus, the Venezuela international scored yet again, bringing his streak to 14 consecutive games with a goal. That streak could stretch to 16 goals by the end of this week, if all goes well. If it feels like this is a story every single week, that’s because it is.
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The last time Martinez played in an MLS match and didn’t score, teams and players had yet to go on the summer international break, Atlanta had yet to reach the top of the table, and Avengers: Endgame was only in theaters for 23 days (it just finished its theatrical run this past week, after 150-plus days in theaters).
Because of this streak, Martinez is in the race for the Golden Boot after winning the award in 2018 and breaking the single-season scoring record in the process. Carlos Vela currently leads the pack with 28 goals, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is in second with 26, and Martinez is third with 24. Vela and Ibrahimovic have four games left to extend their scoring for the season but Martinez has five remaining. It is possible for him to catch both players and surpass them, although his recent record of 31 goals in a single season may be broken in the process.
In looking at each player’s goals-per-game average, we are able to project where each player might finish. Vela is on pace for 32 goals, Ibrahimovic is on pace for 30 goals, and Martinez is on pace for 29 goals. With opponents like Cincinnati this week and Montreal and New England before the season ends, it is entirely possible that Martinez can score a handful of goals to make the Golden Boot race especially interesting while keeping his historic streak alive.