Thomas Müller made his presence known for Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday night, scoring a hat-trick in a seismic 7–0 win over the Supporters’ Shield-leading Philadelphia Union.
It led to a record-breaking night in Major League Soccer, as each of the league’s 30 teams taking to the pitch within five hours, resulting in a packed 15-game matchday that no other top-flight league in the world can rival.
For Müller, it was a special one too—his 36th birthday. And with his three-goal performance, he became the first player in league history to score a regular-season hat-trick on his birthday.
He was far from the only one to find the back of the net, though, as LAFC’s Denis Bouanga, Columbus Crew SC’s Diego Rossi and Charlotte FC’s Idan Toklomati all scored hat-tricks, making Saturday the first quadruple hat-trick matchday in Major League Soccer’s 30-year history.
At the same time, 57 goals were scored across the 15-match slate, tying the record for the most on a single MLS matchday, set on Aug. 6, 2022, when the league had two fewer clubs.
