The Podium: Leagues Cup Round 2

It’s been a bad tournament for defenses, leaving us not short on options for The Podium. 

🥉Gustavo Bou (New England Revolution)

Bou, alongside striking partner Giacomo Vironi, battered an Atletico San Luis backline in a 5-1 victory, the duo combining for four goals and two assists.

Bou gets the slight nod over Vironi because the former is much more involved in build-up play. Tasked with dropping deeper than Vironi, Bou took on the creative responsibilities alongside Carles Gil. Almost exclusively using short passing, the Argentine helped to estalbish a quick passing game that kept San Luis constantly off balance.

The striker looked to end the game early, making his impact felt immediately. Bou helped to get the scoring going early, finding Vironi with a quick one-touch pass in the box. Not satisfied with his assist, Bou launched a rocket off a rebound in the 29th minutes to take a 2-1 lead. Finally, his last goal contribution coming to Vironi in the 39th. Finding the Italian as New England hit San Luis on a counter to make the score 4-1.

🥈Santiago Rodríguez (NYCFC)

A theme of Leagues Cup has been the absolute destruction of some teams. In NYCFC’s matchup with Toronto FC, it was Toronto’s turn to be embarrassed. Led by Santi Rodríguez, NYCFC emerged victorious from a 5-0 rout of the Reds.

The Uruguayan playing as a 10, unloaded his fill arsenal, breaking down Toronto with a bevy of short and long passes. Rodríguez assist from a corner to Maxime Chanot got the scoring started in the 30th minutes but he was far from done. His shot in the 45th minute was saved by goalkeeper Sean Johnson but the rebound directly led to a Monsef Bakrar goal. Having been robbed of a goal, Santi got his name on the scorers card two minutes later, his shot being deflected into goal.

Rodríguez would punctuate his performance in the 75th minute, giving Toronto another season low-light to add to the reel.

🥇Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)

You may have heard Messi has been really good since arriving in North America. Of course, the Argentine is and will continue to be the center of everything Inter Miami does. And that was the case against Atlanta United.

Apparently projecting a magnetic field as defenders seemed scared to get too close, Messi took full advantage of generous space. Establishing a connection with Finnish international Robert Taylor, the three-time Champions League winner finished with two goals and an assist in the 4-0 victory.

I’ve got a feeling we’ll see Messi back in this spot soon.

Honorable Mentions: Drake Callender (MIA), Maxine Chanot (NYCFC), Derrick Williams (DC), Griffin Dorsey (HOU), Marcel Ruiz (TOL), Robert Taylor (MIA), Giacomo Vironi (NE), Brandon Vazquez (CIN)