Petar Musa stats: FC Dallas striker chases Messi in MLS Golden Boot race
Petar Musa has 19 MLS goals in 25 games for FC Dallas, second only to Lionel Messi, and scores slightly more often per minute than him. The numbers behind his season.
Petar Musa has become one of the most prolific strikers in Major League Soccer this season. According to the latest Yalla Shoot data for the 2026 MLS season, the 28-year-old Croatian striker has scored 19 goals in 25 appearances for FC Dallas, putting him second in the league's Golden Boot race behind only Lionel Messi of Inter Miami. On a goals-per-minute basis he has actually been slightly more efficient than the Argentine. With Dallas third in the Western Conference and the regular season nearly over, this Petar Musa player profile goes through the numbers behind his campaign, where he sits in the scoring race and what comes next.
Petar Musa's season stats: 19 goals and 5 assists
Here is his campaign in raw numbers. Musa has played 1,837 minutes across 25 MLS matches and scored 19 goals, three of them from the penalty spot. He has also set up five more, which gives him 24 direct goal involvements. His average match rating in the data is 7.32.
- Goals: 19 (16 from open play or set pieces other than penalties, 3 penalties)
- Assists: 5
- Appearances: 25
- Minutes: 1,837, about 73 per appearance
- Minutes per goal: about 97
- Goals per 90 minutes: 0.93
- Average rating: 7.32
The headline figure is his efficiency. Musa scores roughly once every 97 minutes (96.7 to be exact). Messi's rate is 97.4 minutes per goal from 2,240 minutes. Nobody else in the league's top ten gets close: Sam Surridge of Nashville SC is next at about 106 minutes per goal, and most of the chasing pack need between 120 and 150 minutes for each goal. Musa has also played fewer minutes than every other player in the top ten except Surridge, so his total is not just the product of extra time on the pitch.
How important Musa is to FC Dallas
Dallas have scored 53 league goals in 29 matches, so Musa's 19 make up about 36 percent of the team's output. Add his five assists and he has had a direct hand in 24 of those 53 goals, around 45 percent. Few strikers in the league carry that share of their club's attack.
The team's record is 14 wins, eight draws and seven defeats for 50 points. The goal difference is +8, with 45 goals conceded. That defensive record is notably weaker than those of the two sides above them: Vancouver have let in 30 and St. Louis 38. It helps explain why Musa's scoring has mattered so much. Dallas have often needed to outscore opponents rather than shut them out, and their centre-forward has been the main reason they could.
Dallas are also in decent form. They have taken 10 points from their last five league matches (W, L, W, D, W), which keeps them in a tight race for the top of the Western Conference.
Western Conference standings: Dallas in the hunt
Only two points separate the top three in the West. Vancouver Whitecaps lead with 52 points, St. Louis City have 51 and Dallas 50, all from 29 matches. San Jose Earthquakes are three points further back. Here is the top six:
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | GF-GA | Pts | Last five |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 29 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 61-30 | 52 | DDLDW |
| 2 | St. Louis City | 29 | 14 | 9 | 6 | 54-38 | 51 | DWWWW |
| 3 | FC Dallas | 29 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 53-45 | 50 | WLWDW |
| 4 | San Jose Earthquakes | 29 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 51-41 | 47 | DDWDW |
| 5 | Houston Dynamo | 29 | 13 | 7 | 9 | 39-37 | 46 | DDLDL |
| 6 | Los Angeles FC | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 47-32 | 45 | WDLDL |
All six currently sit in the positions marked for a direct place in the MLS Cup playoffs. Under the league's current format, the top seven clubs in each conference go straight into the first round and the eighth- and ninth-placed teams meet in a wild-card match. Finishing as high as possible still matters, because higher seeds get home advantage in the early playoff rounds.
The Golden Boot race runs through the West as well. Brian White (Vancouver), Rafael Navarro (St. Louis) and Dénis Bouanga (Los Angeles FC) all have 17 goals. Houston's Guilherme has 16 and leads that group for assists with seven. Musa is two goals clear of all of them.
MLS Golden Boot race 2026: the top ten scorers
Messi leads the scoring list with 23 goals and 12 assists in 26 appearances, plus the highest average rating in the top ten at 8.51. Musa is four goals behind him and one ahead of Philadelphia Union's Milan Iloski, who has 18. Five players are level on 17 below Iloski. The table below shows the full top ten, including minutes per goal (rounded):
| # | Player | Club | Goals | Assists | Apps | Minutes | Mins per goal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Inter Miami | 23 | 12 | 26 | 2,240 | 97 |
| 2 | Petar Musa | FC Dallas | 19 | 5 | 25 | 1,837 | 97 |
| 3 | Milan Iloski | Philadelphia Union | 18 | 2 | 29 | 2,373 | 132 |
| 4 | Dénis Bouanga | Los Angeles FC | 17 | 5 | 28 | 2,391 | 141 |
| 5 | Brian White | Vancouver Whitecaps | 17 | 2 | 27 | 2,268 | 133 |
| 6 | Kévin Denkey | FC Cincinnati | 17 | 3 | 27 | 2,054 | 121 |
| 7 | Sam Surridge | Nashville SC | 17 | 1 | 23 | 1,794 | 106 |
| 8 | Rafael Navarro | St. Louis City | 17 | 5 | 29 | 2,517 | 148 |
| 9 | Guilherme | Houston Dynamo | 16 | 7 | 28 | 2,393 | 150 |
| 10 | Kelvin Yeboah | Minnesota United | 16 | 2 | 28 | 2,120 | 133 |
Some points stand out. Messi has scored only one penalty, so in non-penalty goals he leads Musa by 22 to 16. Iloski's total includes four penalties and Navarro's also includes four, while Musa has three. Surridge has played the fewest minutes in the top ten (1,794) but has 17 goals, and he is the only player besides Messi and Musa who scores more often than once every 110 minutes.
Can Musa catch Messi?
A four-goal gap is a lot to close with only a handful of regular-season matches left, especially against a player who also provides a steady stream of assists. Musa's rate of almost a goal per 90 minutes means it is not out of the question, though. He would need a hot streak while Messi stalls. The more realistic target is holding on to second place, which Iloski and the five players on 17 goals will all be chasing.
Background: a Croatian goalscorer in Texas
Musa came to Dallas from Europe. He played for Portuguese giants Benfica before moving to MLS, and the club has used him as its main reference point up front. This season's figures show how well he has settled into the league. In MLS, strikers who score close to a goal per 90 minutes over a full campaign are rare, and this year he is level with Messi on that measure.
FC Dallas are one of the league's founding-era clubs and have a long tradition of developing young players through their academy. In recent years their attack has depended heavily on one central striker, and Musa has filled that role.
What's next for Petar Musa and FC Dallas
The remaining regular-season matches will decide three things: whether Dallas can overtake Vancouver and St. Louis for first place in the West, how high they are seeded for the playoffs, and whether Musa can put any pressure on Messi in the Golden Boot race. With two points covering the top three, every result counts. Dallas also have to keep an eye on San Jose and Houston behind them.
Fans can follow every remaining fixture, the live table and the scorer list on our Major League Soccer page, and track results as they happen on Yalla Shoot live scores. If Musa keeps scoring at this rate, Dallas will head into the playoffs with one of the most productive strikers in the league.