Why Sam Surridge has Hany Mukhtar to thank for his MLS Golden Boot bid | OneFootball

Sam Surridge scored his MLS-leading 16th goal on Saturday night to help Nashville SC defeat D.C. United 1-0 and extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 14 matches.

Surridge has already surpassed his 12-goal total from his first full MLS season, which in turn was the first time he'd ever reached double-digit goals in a single league campaign through a career that has also included stints in the EFL Championship, League Two and some limited Premier League action.

And if he goes on to win the MLS Golden Boot -- he began the weekend two in front of the Philadelphia Union's Tai Baribo -- he should seriously consider giving Hany Mukhtar a cut of whatever bonus he receives.

Because this all became possible when Mukhtar began missing penaltes.

Surridge wasn't on many people's Golden Boot radar coming into 2025 in part because of Mukhtar, who won the award himself in 2022 while scoring six of his 23 goals from the spot. But the former Nottingham Forest and AFC Bournemouth man has taken the role from his longer-tenured Nashville teammate in a sudden, unexpected and quite effective fashion.

Siezing the opportunity

Once Mukhtar failed to convert two of three PKs in March (the latter of which cost Nashville a point against FC Cincinnati), Surridge took over and has now scored five times in his last five attempts from 12 yards, including Saturday's 18th-minute tally.

Surridge has been excellent in normal play, too, scoring eight non-PK goals during a six-game,10-goal scoring streak. But 31% of his league-leading total owes to penalties. That's significant: if not for his new role, he would have entered Saturday in a three-way tie for second, two goals behind Philadelphia's Tai Baribo.

That's not to suggest any shame in it. It's more common than not for the Golden Boot winner to get a solid chunk of his total output from penalties. Josef Martinez scored eight of his 31 goals in 2018 from the spot. Carlos Vela had nine of his MLS-record 34 from penalties. And we already discussed Mukhtar.

But it's probably worth it for Surridge to keep in mind as his chase continues and especially over the holiday season should he win the race. There could be a gift package in order. Or at least a nice card.

As for Mukhtar, jealousy is unlikely and wouldn't be useful. You're rooting for your teammate to win the award. For one thing, it helps your team. For another, if he falls a goal short, you'll never hear the end of how you should've let him take PKs from the start of the season.