Major League Soccer

L. Messi leads the race with 13 goals after 16 matches for Inter Miami. He is level on goals with P. Musa on 13, while H. Cuypers sits 0 back on 13. At the current rate L. Messi projects to finish on around 28 for the season.

L. Messi has scored 13 goals for Inter Miami this season, accounting for 27% of the team's 48 league goals. The output goes well beyond a flat scoring rate. He is the player Inter Miami turn to in tight games and the one defenders have to pick up first. Recent goal hauls include 1 goal against Philadelphia Union, 1 goal against Nashville SC, and 1 goal against Portland Timbers. The numbers put him in the conversation for player of the season as long as the form holds.

1. L. Messi (Inter Miami) on 13 goals. 2. P. Musa (FC Dallas) on 13 goals. 3. H. Cuypers (Chicago Fire) on 13 goals. 4. N. Fernández Mercau (New York City FC) on 13 goals. 5. Guilherme (Houston Dynamo) on 12 goals.

L. Messi of Inter Miami tops the assists chart with 8. Evander (FC Cincinnati) is next on 8, and Son Heung-Min of Los Angeles FC rounds out the top three on 8.

S. Surridge of Nashville SC is the most efficient finisher in the league at 1.21 goals per 90 minutes. He has 12 goals from 895 minutes, so volume is not the headline. The story is how rarely he wastes time on the pitch.

Guilherme is the breakout story so far. In a first season at this level he has 12 goals for Houston Dynamo, the kind of return scouts will keep on file. Defenders did not have much footage to study, and Guilherme has used that to his advantage.