STWF Sports | FRISCO, Texas |August 20, 2026 — FC Dallas’ attacking surge in Utah earned league-wide recognition, with forward Petar Musa and midfielder Joaquín Valiente named to the MLSsoccer.com Team of the Matchday Starting XI for Matchday 21.
The selections came after Dallas’ dramatic 4-3 road victory over Real Salt Lake, a match in which Musa scored twice and Valiente delivered one goal and two assists. FC Dallas captain Ramiro was also recognized with a place on the Team of the Matchday bench after registering two assists.
For Musa, the honor marked his fourth Starting XI selection of the season, further underscoring a campaign that has placed him at the center of the Golden Boot race.
The Croatian forward scored his 15th and 16th goals of the season against Real Salt Lake, keeping him atop the league scoring chart. His first goal of the night also placed him in exclusive MLS company.
Petar Musa’s Historic Goal Scoring
Musa became just the fifth player in league history to score at least 15 goals in each of his first three MLS seasons, joining Josef Martinez, David Villa, Sebastian Giovinco and Raúl Díaz Arce.
He also reached another milestone by scoring his 50th MLS regular-season goal in his 78th appearance, making him the fastest player in FC Dallas history to reach that mark.
Musa now sits three goals behind Jesús Ferreira’s 53 regular-season goals for second place on the club’s all-time scoring list.
While Musa continued his prolific scoring pace, Valiente delivered one of his most complete performances of the season.
The Uruguayan midfielder scored his first FC Dallas goal, assisted both of Musa’s strikes and led the team in key passes and distance covered. The performance earned Valiente his first Team of the Matchday Starting XI selection.
Valiente now leads Dallas with eight assists and 27 key passes this season, becoming one of the club’s most reliable creators in the final third.
His chemistry with Musa has also become increasingly important.
Valiente has assisted Musa four times this season, and FC Dallas owns a perfect 5-0-0 record when Valiente records an assist. He has now posted assists in back-to-back matches twice this year.
Dallas captain Ramiro also played an important role in the win, contributing two assists, including the setup for Ran Binyamin’s stoppage-time game-winner.
The recognition adds to what has already been a strong year for FC Dallas players in the league’s weekly honors.
Musa has now made the Starting XI on Matchdays 1, 4, 8 and 21, while also appearing on the bench for Matchday 20. He was additionally named Player of the Matchday in Week 4.
Other FC Dallas players honored this season include Logan Farrington, Osaze Urhoghide, Kaick, Sam Sarver, Jonathan Sirois and Lalas Abubakar.
The Matchday 21 Starting XI also included Kristoffer Velde, Jack Harrison, Evander and Roman Celentano, while Houston head coach Ben Olsen earned coaching honors.
For Dallas, though, the spotlight remained on the partnership between Musa and Valiente.
One is finishing chances at a historic rate. The other is increasingly creating them.
Together, their Matchday 21 performances helped FC Dallas secure another road victory while strengthening both players’ growing cases as two of the club’s most influential figures this season.
