By Harrison Hamm
Petar Musa reclaimed the Golden Boot presented by Audi lead in spectacular fashion.
His 14th goal of the season, a perfectly placed strike from the top of the box, lifted FC Dallas to a 2-1 win over Texas rivals Austin FC. The goal moved Musa one ahead of New York City FC’s Nicolas Fernández Mercau in the Golden Boot race.
Musa’s goal also secured Dallas a crucial Copa Tejas rivalry win, pushing them into fifth place in the Western Conference.
As usual, their All-Star striker is serving as the talisman.
Ruler of the rivalry
With the score tied in the second half, Musa found a gap in the box and stroked a left-footed curler off the post and in. FC Dallas hunkered down from there and would not relinquish the lead.
The goal marked his seventh goal contribution (4g/3a) against the Verde & Black, more than any other MLS team he's faced in his career.
“We know how special this game is,” Musa told Apple TV after the match. “We want to win every game, especially this one.
"I’m very happy about three points, but [it’s] more about the performance we put in from the first minute.”
The Croatian has been a goal machine since he arrived in Dallas as a Designated Player from Benfica, scoring a total of 48 league goals in three seasons.
His goal against Austin is his second in league play since the World Cup break, and he also got himself on the scoresheet against Toluca in the Leagues Cup on Wednesday.
Golden Boot charge
He is in the thick of a competitive race for the Golden Boot. Fernández Mercau has scored 13 goals, while four players have tallied 12 goals. Among them, Guilherme (Houston Dynamo FC) scored his fourth in as many games to reach that mark in the Dynamo’s 1-0 win on Saturday over the LA Galaxy. And of course, reigning winner Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF) is also very much in the mix with 12 goals of his own.
Musa, however, looks to have reached peak form again as FC Dallas knock on the door of home-field advantage in the postseason.
His prowess in front of goal is well-established. After all, his exploits in Dallas earned him a spot with Croatia’s national team at the World Cup, where he started his nation’s opening group stage game and scored a memorable equalizer against England.
"I am having a lot of things go my way, but I am focusing on each game," Musa added postgame. "I am not happy with my individual performance tonight, but I know the team has my back.
"I’m happy with the goal, but not my performance. There are a lot of things to improve on, but we take three more road points.”
Now his attention turns to helping Dallas climb further up the Western Conference table. Their packed upcoming schedule includes a series of games against teams sitting near them in the standings, starting with a midweek clash at Real Salt Lake on Wednesday (9:30 pm ET | Apple TV).
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