FC Dallas‘ star Croatian forward has been on a tear to start the season with an MLS-leading nine goals in his first nine games this season. His contributions have helped Dallas to seventh place in the Western Conference and an eye toward a postseason berth after missing out last year.
On a more personal note, the blistering start also helps Musa’s chances to make Croatia’s national team for the upcoming FIFA World Cup. Musa featured in some of Croatia’s qualifiers, helping them make the tournament. If he is selected, he’s potentially in line to play in Croatia’s group stage match against England at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Here’s a closer look at Musa’s fast start and where he might break into the club and league record books:
With nine goals, Musa currently leads the race to be the MLS’ top scorer standings by one goal. NYC FC midfielder Nicolas Fernandez is second with eight goals in nine games. Just behind them is a pair of players on seven goals, including Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi and Nashville forward Sam Surridge.
Messi won last year’s top scorer prize with 29 goals in 28 games. It was the third-best return in league history with Carlos Vela’s 34 goals for Los Angeles FC in 2019 the league-record mark.
If he stays healthy and continues scoring at his current rate of a goal per game, Musa is on pace for 34 goals across the 34-game campaign, enough to beat Vela’s tally.
Dallas’ franchise record stands at 18 goals in a season, shared by four players. The club’s all-time leading scorer Jason Kreis was the first to reach the mark when he did so across 32 games in the 1999 season. He was matched in 2008 by Kenny Cooper Jr. who notched 18 across 30 games. Jesús Ferreira, now with the Seattle Sounders, had his 18-goal season across 33 games in 2022.
The latest 18-goal effort was put together by Musa himself last season when he hit the mark in 30 games. Musa is halfway to that record mark only nine games into the season, giving him a great opportunity to take the record by himself and potentially notch the first 20-goal league season in FCD history.
Additionally, Musa needs 11 more goals this season to reach 56 goals for FCD and pass Jesús Ferreira for second place on the club’s all-time goal scorers table. He would still be far behind Kreis’ record 97 goals, but well on his way while maintaining a record pace with 0.6 goals per match.