As the MLS postseason looms, D.C. United is among a handful of teams on the bubble for a playoff spot with two games remaining in the regular season.
At the same time D.C. United is clamoring for a berth, striker Christian Benteke has nearly secured the Golden Boot for most goals this season.
Benteke, the Belgian striker who played for 10 years in the Premier League before joining D.C. United in 2022, has 22 goals this season, three more than LAFC's Denis Bouanga with 19 and four more than Inter Miami's Luis Suarez with 18.
Benteke, 33, has scored three goals in United's past two games. He had a brace in a 2-2 draw with Columbus last weekend, then added a goal in the team's 4-3 comeback win against Nashville on Wednesday night. He also has seven assists.
“I’m enjoying this moment, because I know that I work so hard, on and off the field. I’m not surprised at all," Benteke said. "And I would just keep going with what I’ve been doing, just working for the team, and if I have the chance to score, it would be great for myself. But I’m not going to put any type of pressure (on it).”
But just as important for Benteke is keeping the season alive. D.C. United is currently in 11th place in the standings, but tied on points with the Philadelphia Union and ninth-place Toronto for the final playoff spot. Montreal is three points ahead of that group in eighth.
After the regular season wraps up with Decision Day on Oct. 19, the eighth and ninth teams in each conference play in a single-elimination match to determine who will face the conference leaders in the best-of-three first round.
In all, 15 teams have secured their places in the playoffs. Only three spots remain — two in the Eastern Conference and one in the West. And of course most teams are still fighting for playoff position.
In the East, Inter Miami has already clinched the top spot and secured the Supporters Shield.
“We are a resilient team. We don’t give up. We’ve been through so many tough times through the season with injury, with red cards, with bad luck as well,” Benteke said. “So, yeah, we’re not going to give up, that’s for sure.”
Benteke, who had stints at Aston Villa, Liverpool and Crystal Palace, is a big reason United are still in the running.
“His leadership, his commitment to playing the style of play — he sets the line for us very often,” coach Troy Lesesne said. “He puts in a ton of work against the ball. It would be easy for a guy like that to take a play off here or there; he doesn’t."
In the Western Conference, currently led by the LA Galaxy, the Portland Timbers currently sit in ninth place for the final spot, a point back of Minnesota.
Portland was hurt by a 1-0 loss at home to Austin on Wednesday night. A win would have clinched the Timbers a postseason berth after missing the cut the past two seasons.
Austin's victory mean it remains in the hunt for a berth, too, six points back of Portland. Should Austin win both its final games, it's still possible.
“We know where we are in the season and we know what the odds look like, and everything,” said midfielder Daniel Pereira. “But we try to win every game and score as many goals as we can.”
Austin FC has one more road game, against the LA Galaxy on Saturday, before wrapping up the season at home against the Colorado Rapids.
The Timbers play FC Dallas at home on Sunday before wrapping up the season in Seattle against the rival Sounders. They'll need a win in one of those two games to clinch.
“I think we lost a really good chance to be in the playoffs already. Now we have another game on Sunday, which is going to be really important, and we choose to keep working,” Timbers captain Diego Chara said.
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