Alan Pulido, the veteran former Mexico international has been slowly coming back to form since returning to Sporting KC's ranks in April after a season-ending knee injury in 2022.
Against Austin FC on a rainy Saturday night, it was the 32-year-old who put the Wizards a goal ahead just before the 20-minute mark in a game KC would eventually win 4-1, and he even scored another goal and assisted on Robert Castellanos' second half effort.
"When he was injured, he put his head down and he worked extremely hard, and I think he's seeing the fruits of that labor that he put in, and I think you're also starting to see again the player that we originally had in the beginning," said Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes after the match.
Pulido, KC's DP, has scored 20 goals and contributed eight assists in 50 games since joining from Liga MX side C.D. Guadalajara in 2020, and prior to his injury, had been a key figure in KC's offense with eight goals and three assists before going down.
"He's a guy that wants to play, wants to be on the field. It's his passion and what he wants to do," Vermes said. "There's players that sometimes, they want to get out of everything, right?... He's never been that way from day one."
Kansas City moves up on the Western Conference table to the eighth spot on goal difference after Minnesota were hammered 4-0 by CF Montreal. This is their fourth positive in a row (3W, 1D) since getting four dropped on them unanswered against St. Louis City SC back on May 20 at CITYPARK in Missouri.
"It all comes down to the fact that there is a belief in the group. Everybody really believes that we are working towards the right goals," Vermes said. "We still have a lot of work to do. We haven't even come close to where I believe we can be."
Former River Plate attacking midfielder Sebastian Driussi provided the one positive moment for Austin in the second half, scoring his fourth goal in 12 MLS appearances this campaign.
This article was originally published on 90min as Alan Pulido shows his class as Sporting KC crush Austin.
