Pulisic continues magical run
At this point, you can almost pencil Christian Pulisic in for a goal before he plays in any game. On Friday, the U.S. winger scored the final goal for AC Milan in a decisive 3-0 win over Lecce. His goal came in the 43rd minute and from then it was just Milan coasting out a win (before going down to 10 men in the 80th minute after Davide Bartesaghi was sent off). Pulisic came out of the game in the 63rd minute.
On Pulisic’s goal, he was in the right place at the right time after Milan was knocking on the door and a shot off the post landed on the feet of the Hershey native for a goal from close range.
Pulisic now has four goals and two assists in six Serie A games. Across all competitions for Milan, he’s at five goals and two assists in seven games. When including the U.S. national team, he has goals in five straight games.
It’s a remarkable run and it’s one of the best runs in his career as goals have also come against some of the best teams in the world in Inter Milan and Liverpool.
He’s the best American player, at the top of his game, playing for one of the most storied clubs in the world. American fans should just sit back and enjoy this.
In additional good news, Yunus Musah returned to the field after two games as an unused substitute. He came into the game in the 63rd minute. Musah had 29 touches in his 27 minutes and was an efficient 23/24 in his passing. Seven of those completed passes were balls into the final third.
Musah initially played his normal central midfield role, but then was moved to left back as an emergency in the 80th minute after Milan was reduced to 10 players.
Things are starting to click now for AC Milan under Paolo Fonseca. This was its third win in a row and it now sits in third place.
Downs and Pepi: double strikes
Damion Downs, 20, and Ricardo Pepi, 21, are two young American forwards who each scored two goals for their respective clubs over the weekend.
Pepi was given a rare chance to start for PSV Eindhoven on Saturday against Willem II. With PSV set to face Sporting CP in the Champions League on Tuesday, head coach Peter Bosz gave Pepi a chance to start over team captain for Luuk de Jong.
Pepi seized the day completely with goals in the 49th and 64th minute to boost PSV to a 2-0 win and help it keep up their perfect Eredivisie start, which now stands at 21 points from seven games.
While de Jong is the deserved starter for PSV, Bosz has been reluctant to turn to Pepi in important minutes of close games. There seemed to be a lack of trust with Pepi as de Jong has been nearly overworked.
Pepi had an opportunity to build that trust, and he grabbed it with both hands. This should only see him continue to get opportunities as PSV tries to manage its busy schedule. Long-term there are still questions whether PSV sees Pepi as a player who can eventually replace the 34-year-old de Jong. But for now, he showed he can still help with squad rotation.
After the game, Bosz spoke about Pepi.
“He’s a good player, but he’s unlucky to have a phenomenon in front of him,” said Bosz after the win. “Luuk scores, assists and is our captain. And he’s also in top shape. That tough luck Ricardo has too.”
“Toward the end of last season, I spoke to him more often, because he needed it anyway,” said Bosz. “It’s very human that if you train well and fill in, but still don’t start in the starting lineup, that will be frustrating. But that is his fate, and that is what he was told when he came here. Earnie Stewart [PSV director of soccer] has been very clear about that. But I can imagine that it can be tough at times.”
“Of course I discussed this with Luuk beforehand,” said Bosz. “Last year he kept me away from this, when I sometimes suggested giving him a rest. Luuk kept pointing out the games they had lost in the year before, but I didn’t fall for that this year. Purely because I thought Pepi deserved to play this match.”
Downs, 20, was one of the star performers of the weekend for Americans in Europe when he scored two goals in the opening 16 minutes for FC Köln in its game at Karlsruhe. The quality of his two goals was first-rate.
His 7th-minute goal to give Köln a 2-0 lead required a lot of skill to control a long ball from distance and quickly unleash a quality finish. Then in the 16th minute, Downs hit a bending shot from just outside the box.
Overall, it was a disappointing day for Köln. It had a 3-0 lead followed by a 4-2 lead at halftime. Ultimately, it settled for a 4-4 tie. Downs was subbed out in the 62nd minute. With the result, Köln slipped to eighth place in the 2.Bundesliga and it has made a bad habit of squandering leads. Only five teams in the league have conceded more goals than Köln through eight games.
Downs is enjoying an impressive start to the season with four goals and one assist from seven games and 501 minutes. While Köln is one of the bigger clubs in the 2.Bundesliga, it will be hard to hold on to him if it doesn’t get promoted after this season.
National team-wise, Downs is certainly behind several other players like Balogun, Pepi, and Sargent. But he should be in the next group (along with players like Brandon Vazquez) who are pushing for chances. Downs is certainly emerging as an important prospect.
Both Aaronson brothers stand out
Brenden Aaronson continues his very good start to the English Championship season for Leeds United on Saturday with an effective 90-minute shift in a 3-0 win over Coventry. The versatile USMNT attacker started strong in the No. 10 position in a 4-2-3-1 formation. In the 16th minute, he contributed a first-rate “hockey,” playing the ball forward to left back Junior Firpo, who then played it with one-touch to winger Wilfried Gnonto who scored with a single touch shot for a 1-0 lead.
Aaronson was consistently helping to keep Leeds United on the front foot. He was dispossessed more times than he would have liked but still completed four dribbles and multiple chances while also helping in the press to force turnovers.
After giving up three goals to Portsmouth in their first game of the season, Leeds has conceded one goal in their last six games.
Last week was a tough week for Paxten Aaronson. He made only a time-wasting cameo for Utrecht’s first team and then he played for Jong Utrecht on Monday, in a 4-0 loss. It gave pause for people who thought he was taking a big role within the team (where he’s on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt). On Sunday away at AZ Alkmaar, however, the younger Aaronson brother was given a big opportunity and seized it.
Aaronson, 21, came into the game to start the second half with the score 1-1. In the 55th minute, he ended up scoring what would turn out to be the winning goal of a huge 2-1 win on the road. The significance was impressive as Utrecht leapfrogged AZ Alkmaar into second place in the Eredivisie.
Beyond the goal, Aaronson worked hard in his 45 minutes in winning duels, and possessing the ball to see out the win. Don’t be surprised to see him return to being a big part of the team. Once he does that, he will probably not be far off having a chance to earn a call-up under Pochettino.
Balogun getting hot
Folarin Balogun scored for the second straight game (his first two goals of the season) as AS Monaco rallied for a 2-1 win over Montpellier. AS Monaco was celebrating their centennial in this game but fell behind 1-0.
Balogun then scored the equalizer from close range in the 32nd minute.
For the rest of the game, Balogun was dangerous but he missed two more excellent chances to score. On the positive side, he could have had an assist or two in the second half but was let down by teammates. These questions would have been more serious if not for Monaco finding the gamewinner in stoppage time.
Balogun is a mixed bag right now. He’s consistently dangerous and is rarely invisible. He’s at the heart of Monaco’s offense. But he still needs too many chances to score. The good news is that he’s still young and he’s in one of the runs where he is scoring.
The best news is that Monaco now sits in second place with 16 points from six games. It only trails Paris Saint-Germain on goal differential.
Other good news in Europe
Juventus defeated Genoa 3-0 on the road in an empty stadium due to recent crowd problems at the Coppa Italia. Weston McKennie started and played 62 minutes in an outing where he was useful to his team in the win.
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McKennie was in central midfield and was playing a more disciplined tactical role than the free-ranging role he sometimes plays. There weren’t too many highlights but he did work well within the context of the team. His passing was efficient (32/34) and he was positionally sound on the defensive side (where he was deeper than where he has been in recent history). Also important for McKennie is that he returned to his strength as a ball-winner. He faded recently — especially at the Copa America where he was regularly outworked for balls.
This is the type of performance that will surely please his coach, Thiago Motta, as it shows he can fit well within his plans on a day when Juventus moved to the top of the standings with 12 points from six games.
Staying in Serie A, Gianluca Busio and Venezia were on the wrong end of a 2-1 loss to Roma in the Olympic Stadium, but the former Sporting Kansas City midfielder played well. His shot in the first half hit the frame, but Venezia scored in the ensuing scramble for a 1-0 lead.
Venezia tried to hold on but Roma eventually equalized in the 75th minute on a ball that deflected off Busio. Eight minutes later, Roma found its winner. Venezia didn’t play poorly. They were out-possessed 70/30 but had just as many big chances to score as Roma. Busio has been playing well for Venezia since his return from injury last week.
Despite not scoring, Josh Sargent, 24, had one of his most influential games of the young 2024-25 season with two assists for Norwich City in a 3-2 away win over Derby County. The St. Louis native played all 90 minutes and had 31 touches. He was 16/20 in his passing and was effective in his hold-up play. He also drew three fouls to create set piece opportunities and won 4/7 of his ground duels. He was the second most important player in the game behind Borja Sainz, who had a hat trick for Norwich.
In Friday’s media session, Norwich manager Hoff Thorup was full of praise for Sargent and the numerous ways he can affect the game.
“He has a very big role,” Thorup said of Sargent. “I know when you focus on strikers, you don’t talk that much about their defensive discipline and he’s fantastic at that. He’s the center of the first press, he connects the wide players and he’s very analytic in his approach. That’s what you see at the highest level, it’s a huge part of the game. In attack, he’s our main guy. He gets into good positions and he can run in behind. He’s a central character for us in the game and his personality.”
Aidan Morris had a quietly solid game for Middlesbrough on Saturday in a 2-0 win over Stoke City. The possession was even but Middlesbrough was dominant in chances, outshooting Stoke City 26-7 (9-1 on target). Morris, 22, was useful in keeping up that pressure with a 58/62 passing percentage, three drawn fouls, a positive winning percentage for duels, two shots, and six passes into the final third.
Overall, his first season in the Championship continues to be positive since moving from Columbus.
Not everyone is playing well
Even beyond those who are injured, there are some players who are healthy but are not playing well.
Haji Wright has struggled to start the season for Coventry and that continued in the 3-0 loss to Leeds. He was on the bench to begin the game but was subbed on in the 61st minute. He was 11/11 in passing but didn’t register a shot and didn’t create anything dangerous as Coventry was chasing the game. Coventry is only out of the relegation zone on goal differential.
Taylor Booth was only a time-wasting sub for Utrecht in its win over AZ Alkmaar and his role within the team seems to be declining steadily.
Jordan Pefok is goalless for Union Berlin this season and he failed to register a shot and was just 6/14 in his passing in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach.
Then there is the goalkeeping situation. Matt Turner is glued to the bench for Crystal Palace. Ethan Horvath is also benched for Cardiff City in the Championship, although that might be a blessing given how bad Cardiff City is. On Saturday, Cardiff City lost to Hull 4-1 to remain last in the Championship. They have just one point from seven games and scored only two goals while conceding 17 for a -15 goal differential. These are tough days for Horvath.
Off the beaten path
Many years ago, Zyen Jones was considered a decent U.S. youth national team prospect. He was a regular with the U-17 national team and would later receive call-ups to the U-19 team and the U-20 team under Tab Ramos. A native of Georgia, he moved from Atlanta United to Schalke in his teenage years. After that didn’t work out, he also didn’t manage much in a return home with the Charlotte Independence.
After that, Jones decided to take a very difficult path in Eastern Europe — where success for American players has been limited. He signed with Ferencvaros in Hungary but was with their second team. He then spent a year on loan with FC Spartak Trnava in Slovakia. Last season, he moved to Nõmme Kalju FC in Estonia before moving to FC Kosice in Slovakia for the second half of 2023-24.
Jones, now 24, is still with FC Kosice and he is the only North American on the roster. On Saturday, he scored a very important goal in a tough situation.
FC Košice was reduced to 10 men in the 32nd minute on the road at Dukla Banska Bystrica. Jones came into the game in the 82nd minute with the game 2-2. In stoppage time, Jones found a way to win it for Kosice against the run of play, down a man. Jones took the ball on the right wing, cut into the box and beat the keeper with a left-footed shot to the near post. The win moved FC Kosice into seventh place of Slovakia’s top tier.
Jones has taken a very difficult route with his career and Eastern Europe is a tough place to play for Americans. There are cultural differences, clubs are often in tough financial shape, and contracts are not typically long in length. But Jones has taken this route for a while now and continues to push on for what seems to be a strong love for the game.
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Publish date : 2024-09-30 13:02:00
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