Atlanta United star smashes MLS record with game-winning goal

ATLANTA — Josef Martínez won Atlanta United’s Wednesday match with just one goal, but smashed an MLS record in the process.

When Martínez took the field against Inter Miami, he had just 99 career goals to his name. After Atlanta earned a penalty kick in the 78th minute, that number reached 100.

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“When I grabbed the ball, for a minute I was thinking about giving it to someone else,” the 28-year-old striker from Venezuela said after the match.

The goal was the only one scored by either team throughout the entire match, earning Atlanta the win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“It was destiny that it had to be Josef with a penalty to score his hundredth goal and help us to win as a team,” head coach Gonzalo Pineda said.

Wednesday’s match was Martínez’s 125th MLS appearance, making him the fastest player to reach 100 goals in MLS history. The record was previously held by Robbie Keane who scored 100 goals in 156 games.

The win also gave Atlanta their first-ever win against Miami.

Atlanta is hitting the road for their next match-up this weekend against Montreal.

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