Montreal Impact Midfielder Lassi Lappalainen Voted MLS Player of the Week

Montreal Impact midfielder Lassi Lappalainen was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Week for the 21st week of the 2019 MLS season.

After arriving to Montreal on Thursday via loan from Seria A club Bologna, Lappalainen had an immediate impact in his MLS debut, scoring two goals to lead the Impact to a 4-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union at Stade Saputo on Saturday. Montreal sits sixth in the Eastern Conference with 33 points (10-11-3 overall record).

A member of the Finland National Team, Lappalainen scored four minutes into his Impact debut. After collecting a pass in the box from Zachary Brault-Guillard, Lappalainen fooled the goalkeeper with a deft touch and cutback, finishing with an open shot into the net to give Montreal an early 1-0 lead (watch goal).

Entering the half with a two-goal lead, Lappalainen then scored his second goal of the match in the 46th minute to give Montreal a 3-0 advantage. The 20-year-old dispossessed a Philadelphia defender at midfield and dribbled down the left flank into the box before finishing with a right-footed shot just inside the far post to cap a tremendous debut (watch goal).

Montreal returns to regular season action when facing the Colorado Rapids at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park on Saturday, August 3 (9 p.m. ET, ESPN+ / TVAS).

The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while a Twitter fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.