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Josef Martinez might possibly be the most in-form striker in the entire world right now. The Atlanta United talisman has seven goals in his last three games, including back-to-back hat-tricks against New England Revolution and his latest heroic effort against Orlando City. Watch all of his three goals in the 3-3 draw:
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 16, 2017
A THIRD hat trick of 2017 for @JosefMartinez17. pic.twitter.com/cIDNK4VqA1
The back-to-back hat-tricks is only the third occurence in league history, joining legends of MLS, Eddie Johnson and Robbie Keane.
Josef Martínez is the third player with an @MLS hat trick in consecutive games, joining Robbie Keane and Eddie Johnson. #ATLvORL
— Paul Carr (@PCarrESPN) September 16, 2017
His third overall hat-trick of the season makes him just the fifth player in MLS history with that achievement. The others are Bradley Wright-Phillips, Diego Serna, Stern John, and Cobi Jones.
Three hat tricks in an @MLS season:
— Paul Carr (@PCarrESPN) September 16, 2017
2017 Josef Martínez
2014 Bradley Wright-Phillips
2000 Diego Serna
1998 Stern John
1998 Cobi Jones
His 16 goals on the season puts him just three shy of David Villa for the MLS Golden Boot at the time of writing. What’s remarkable is he’s done that while missing three-plus months with various injuries. Imagine where he’d be if he stayed healthy and scoring at a reasonable rate during that time...