Sam Surridge Brace Off the Bench, Hany Mukhtar Milestone Power Nashville SC Past Charlotte FC

Sam Surridge sat out Nashville SC's previous two games with a hamstring issue. On Saturday night he came off the bench at halftime, touched the ball 14 times according to the club, and scored twice. Some strikers need a few games to shake off the rust. Surridge apparently just needs a sight of goal.

Nashville beat Charlotte FC 4-2 at GEODIS Park, with Hany Mukhtar and Ahmed Qasem putting the hosts two up by the 25th minute and Surridge restoring the two-goal cushion twice after Charlotte fought back. Morrison Agyemang and Pep Biel scored for Charlotte, but Nashville completed a season sweep of their regional rivals and stayed perfect at home.

Qasem Lights the Fuse

Nashville were all over Charlotte from the start. Warren Madrigal hit the crossbar in the sixth minute after a corner, and Kristijan Kahlina had already saved from Matthew Corcoran and Patrick Yazbek by the time the breakthrough came.

In the 19th minute, Qasem burst down the left and fed a low cross toward the penalty spot, and Mukhtar finished from the center of the box into the bottom left corner. Six minutes later Qasem did it himself, taking Cristian Espinoza's layoff on the right side of the box and curling a left-footed shot into the far bottom corner.

Nashville's notes said it was Qasem's first MLS goal and first MLS assist of the season, and his first career MLS match with multiple goal contributions. The club's final notes described the 22-year-old as still waiting for his big moment of 2026 before Saturday. Consider the wait over.

Charlotte Refuse to Go Away

Charlotte lost Harry Toffolo to an injury in the 35th minute, with David Schnegg replacing him, and still found a way back in. In the 42nd minute, Ashley Westwood swung in a set piece and Agyemang headed it from the right side of the six-yard box into the bottom left corner. Brian Schwake, who was not credited with a save all night, was beaten from close range.

At halftime Nashville made the change that decided the night: Surridge on, Madrigal off.

The Turning Point

Charlotte came out of the break with real intent. Archie Goodwin had a header blocked, Kerwin Vargas nodded just over from a corner, and Biel fired just wide, all in a three-minute burst. The equalizer felt close.

Instead, in the 60th minute, Andy Nájar found Surridge at the edge of the box and he drilled a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner. It was his first shot of the night, and it reset the game.

Charlotte still had one more punch. Biel answered in the 67th minute with a gorgeous right-footed strike from outside the box into the top right corner, set up by Vargas, and suddenly it was 3-2 again. But seven minutes later Nashville won a corner, Mukhtar's shot was blocked, and Surridge redirected the follow-up from close range into the bottom left corner. ESPN credits Mukhtar with the assist.

Charlotte had a last look in stoppage time, when Agyemang headed just wide from another Westwood delivery, but Nashville saw it out.

The Standouts

Sam Surridge scored twice on two shots. Per Nashville, they were his eighth and ninth MLS goals of the season, his 13th career multi-goal MLS match, and enough to put him level for the MLS lead in goals, even though the club said he has started only four matches. The club also noted that in the games where he has found the net, he has always scored at least twice.

Hany Mukhtar scored once and assisted once. MLS said that made him the third-fastest player in MLS history to reach 150 regular-season goal contributions, behind only Landon Donovan (178 games) and Preki (181). Nashville put Mukhtar's total at 188 games and said he now has goal contributions in four straight matches.

Ahmed Qasem had a goal and an assist and was the best player on the field in the first half.

Cristian Espinoza set up Qasem's goal for what Nashville said was his fifth MLS assist of the season, extending his run of goal contributions to three straight matches.

Pep Biel scored the goal of the night for Charlotte and took three shots.

Kristijan Kahlina made three saves and got little help on the four goals.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: Nashville held 60.8 percent.
• Shots on target: Nashville put seven on target to Charlotte's two, and scored on four of them.
• Saves: Kahlina made three. Schwake made none.
• Passing: Nashville completed 583 of 648 passes.
• Bench impact: Surridge needed two shots for two goals.

What It Means

Nashville move to 7-1-1 with 22 points. The club said it is the first time in club history they have started 7-1-1 in MLS, and that they are 4-0-0 at GEODIS Park in league play for the first time. Nashville's notes put them first in the Eastern Conference, three points clear with a game in hand, and said they are outscoring opponents 21-4 at home this season across all competitions. They have won three straight in MLS, including both meetings with Charlotte this month, and the win was the club's 99th in all competitions since 2020.

The league took notice too: Nashville said Surridge and Nájar made the MLS Team of the Matchday starting XI, with Mukhtar on the bench. Next up is a bigger stage: the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal against Tigres UANL at GEODIS Park on Tuesday.

Charlotte fall to 4-2-4 with 14 points. This was a second straight defeat after a 4-1 loss at Orlando midweek, and they have conceded eight goals in those two games. The goals they scored here, through Agyemang and Biel, at least showed a team that will keep swinging.

Closing Take

Nashville have so much attacking talent that one of their stars can miss two games, come off the bench and still be the story. Think of the Avengers assembling for the final battle, then Thor strolling in late and still landing the decisive blow. Charlotte did enough to make it a contest. Nashville did enough to make it look easy anyway.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional details as reported by Nashville SC and MLS.