NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Gabriel Pirani used both feet to score a pair of unassisted goals during second-half stoppage time after Christian Benteke netted his league-leading 22nd goal and D.C. United rallied from two down to stun Nashville SC 4-3 on Wednesday night.
The come-from-behind victory leaves DC United (9-13-10) in a three-way tie with Toronto FC and the Philadelphia Union for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with two matches left in the regular season.
DC United trailed 3-1 when Benteke used assists from rookie Jacob Murrell and Mateusz Klich to score in the 76th minute. It was the third assist for the 20-year-old Murrell — who subbed into the match one minute earlier — and the 12th for Klich.
Pirani, who subbed into the match in the 67th minute, followed with his fifth and sixth goals of the season — scoring left-footed in the fourth minute of stoppage time and right-footed in the seventh to pull out the victory. Pirani had one goal in 10 starts last season, his first in the league.
Alex Muyl staked Nashville (8-15-9) to an early lead when he used Aníbal Godoy’s second assist of the season in the 6th minute to score.
Defender Lucas Bartlett pulled DC United even in the 24th minute with his second goal of the season and two-year career. Klich and Benteke had assists. It was Benteke’s seventh helper of the campaign.
Hany Mukhtar gave Nashville a 2-1 lead at halftime when he scored for the seventh time this season, unassisted in the 45th minute.
Nashville took a 3-1 lead in the 62nd minute when Muhl used Mukhtar’s 10th assist to score for the fourth time this season.
Joe Willis finished with six saves in goal for Nashville.
Alex Bono stopped two shots for DC United.
D.C. United remains on the road to play the New England Revolution on Saturday. Nashville travels to play New York City FC on Sunday.
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