Sam Surridge scores 4 goals, Mukhtar adds 2 more as Nashville beats Fire 7-2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Sam Surridge scored a club record four goals, Hany Mukhtar added to goals and an assists and Nashville SC beat the Chicago Fire 7-2 on Saturday night.

Nashville coach B.J. Callaghan beat his former boss and current Fire coach Gregg Berhalter in their first meeting. Callaghan served as an assistant for the U.S. men’s national team under Behalter and became interim manager after Berhalter’s contract expired in December 2022.

Surridge — the 19th player in MLS history to score four goals in a game — opened the scoring when he converted from the spot in the 14th minute and Jeisson Palacios scored his first goal in MLS to give Nashville a 2-0 lead when he headed home a corner kick played in by Mukhtar in the 22nd.

Mukhtar added goals in the 25th — when he tapped in a rebound from point-blank range — and 31st minutes before Surridge made another penalty kick in first-half stoppage time make it 5-0. Nashville became the fifth team in MLS history to score five goals in the first half of a match and the first since Philadelphia on July 8, 2022.

Surridge slipped behind the defense to score goals on the counter-attack in the 50th and 57th minutes to make it 7-0.

Philip Zinckernagel scored for the Fire in the 64th and Hugo Cuypers made it 7-2 in the 71st.

Chicago (3-4-3) is winless in five consecutive games.

Surridge (two) and Mukhtar (four) are the only players to record multiple hat tricks for Nashville (5-4-1).

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer