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Americans abroad analysis

Aaronson & Marsch win Austrian title, Yedlin's big day, & much more

There was a big slate of games this midweek and the news wasn't all great but the top story was in Austria as Jesse Marsch and Brenden Aaronson won the Austrian Bundesliga title. In Turkey, DeAndre Yedlin had a big day for Galatasaray in a massive win. ASN's Brian Sciaretta takes you through the ups and downs. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
May 12, 2021
2:50 PM

THE SLATE OF GAMES ON TUESDAY and Wednesday for Americans abroad brought some setbacks, but mostly good news as more silverware was won and others helped to put their teams in better situations. In what has already been a banner year for American players, the positive conclusions are only fitting.

 

Aaronson & Marsch win Austria

 

It was essentially a foregone conclusion as Red Bull Salzburg had a nine point lead atop the Austrian Bundesliga title with three games remaining, but it finally became official on Wednesday as Salzburg defeated second-place Rapid Vienna 2-0 to win the Austrian Bundesliga.

For Brenden Aaronson, it was his second trophy for Red Bull Salzburg as he won the Austrian Cup last weekend. In November, he won the Supporters’ Shield with the Philadelphia Union. In between that time, he has impressed with the United States national team and is clearly in the plans of Gregg Berhalter.

In the 2-0 win, Aaronson was strong yet again – even if he wasn’t directly involved with either of the goals.

 

As for Marsch, he was given a great team when he took over this job in 2019 and the Wisconsin native has excelled. Not only was he a perfect 4/4 in major domestic trophies, but he’s also overseen the increase in value of many top players in the Red Bull empire. He now leaves for Leipzig as a champion and an experience manager both in winning, and in helping top players further their careers.

There is some debate as to whether Brenden Aaronson is ready to join Marsch now at Leipzig. It seems like Aaronson is on that path but a move to Leipzig might be too soon. Even top Salzburg players like Erling Haaland and Dominik Szoboszlai were at the club over a year before moving to the Bundesliga in Germany.

 

Aaronson, 20, checks a lot of boxes as potentially a big player but staying with Salzburg would give him a greater chance of playing meaningful Champions League minutes. While he has played in the Europa League, the Champions League is a huge opportunity and one that would justify him staying in Salzburg. If he plays well in those games while still dominating the Austrian Bundesliga, a move to Leipzig might be in the cards depending on the needs of Leipzig at that time. There shouldn’t be that big of a rush for him to move on when he has a great opportunity right now in Austria in the first half of next season. 

 

Dest and Barcelona stumble

 

On Tuesday, Sergino Dest had a tough moment for Barcelona – which needed a win against Levante to keep its dreams of LaLiga title realistically alive. The U.S. national team right back began this one on the bench but came into the game in the 82nd minute to help Barcelona hold onto a 3-2 lead.

Unfortunately for Dest, a minute after he came on he was at the center of Levante’s equalizer. On the play, Dest slipped and this allowed for a cross that was sent home inside the near post by Sergio Leon.

The moment was unfortunate for Dest and commentators and pundits were quick to place blame on him. Most of that is unfair. He was partially at fault but most of the blame goes on marking in the box and goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen for getting beat near post. Dest slipped but actually recovered in time to get a piece in deflecting the cross. Also, Dest was not even on the field for the first two goals conceded.

Barcelona likely won’t win the title after failing to win this game. It wasn’t Dest’s finest moment but he always seems to rebound strong from his mistakes. After the 2019 U-20 World Cup mistake in the opening game, Dest became one of the best fullbacks in that tournament and then went on to have a great preseason at Ajax. Back in February after he struggled in the loss to Paris St. Germain in the Champions League, he went on his best run of the season – which included a two goal performance and a MOTM for the U.S. team in a win over Jamaica.

Dest seems to learn and quickly recover from his tough moments. There is no reason to expect otherwise here.

 

Siebatcheu scores again

 

New U.S. national team forward Jordan Siebatcheu, 25, has had a great season for BSC Young Boys on loan from Rennes. On Tuesday, the Washington, DC-born forward scored his 12th of the Super League season (all since December) in a 2-0 win over FC Vaduz. He also has another three goals in the Europa League – all against Bayer Leverkusen.

The goal was an exceptional header.

 

For Siebatcheu, the fact that he continues to start for Young Boys is telling. The club has already secured the title and Siebatcheu is only there on loan. It seems to indicate the club thinks there is a good chance he will return next season. That wouldn’t be a bad move for Siebatcheu as he will get the chance to qualify for the Champions League and have momentum with the U.S. team in World Cup qualifying.

 

Yedlin’s big outing for Galatasaray

 

After a scary looking ankle injury last month, DeAndre Yedlin is back to starting for Galatasaray. On Tuesday, he was in the XI for the club in a big matchup against Mix Diskerud and Denizlispor.

This turned out to be a day where everything went right for Yedlin. He performed very well. Galatasary performed well and the two teams ahead of it in the standings, leaders Besiktas and Fenerbahce, both lost.

The result is that Galatasaray is now in second place, and only behind Besiktas on goal differential. This will set up a dramatic finish this weekend in the season’s final round.

In this game, Yedlin was excellent – completing almost all of his passes, winning a high percentage of his duels, and effectively getting involved in the attack.

 

On the final matchday, Galatasary hosts Yeni Malatyaspor while Besiktas visits Goztepe in a far more challenging matchup. Galatasaray trails Bestikas by just two goals on goal differential. This one could be very, very close.

On another note, Yedlin's stock with the national team likely continues to rise and it would seem as if he has a good chance of overtaking Reggie Cannon, Bryan Reynolds, and others to join Sergino Dest as one of the team's right backs. His resume is very strong at the moment.  

 

Cannon and Boavista fall

 

Reggie Cannon started for Boavista on Tuesday in a 1-0 loss to Sporting CP, a result which secured Sporting’s first Portuguese title in 19 years. The loss certainly didn’t help Boavista in its relegation battle but, as heavy underdogs in this one, the big takeaway for Boavista is that it hasn’t been playing poorly.

After playing well with Sporting which followed a 1-1 draw with Tondela where Boavista outshot Todela 22-7, Boavista is playing relatively well and should have confidence ahead of its final two games of the season against 13th place Portimonense and 11th place Gil Vicente. Those are two games where if Boavista plays at the level of its last three games, should expect to get a result.

Right now, Boavista is in the relegation playoff but is only one point out of automatic safety.

As for Cannon, he played well against Sporting in his 81 minutes. With 35 touches, he was 15/18 in passing, had four interceptions, won 2/4 of his duels, was 1/1 in his tackles, and had two key passes.

He is going to have to turn in similar efforts in the final two games to help Boavista climb to safety.

 

Pulisic & Chelsea fall to Arsenal

 

It was a very disappointing afternoon on Wednesday for Christian Pulisic and Chelsea which dropped a 1-0 result to Arsenal in a London Derby. Chelsea still has a six-point edge on West Ham for the final Champions League spot but West Ham has a game in hand. It’s final two games of the season are against Leicester City and Aston Villa, and it probably could use one more win to seal the Champions League spot.


But the Premier League has also been combined with the Champions League run to the final and the upcoming FA Cup final. It has been an exceptionally busy time for Chelsea.

 

In the loss to Chelsea, Pulisic was especially dangerous the final 15-20 minutes of the match and he shifted from side to side. The touch map reflects this.

With 59 touches, 34/36 passing, two key passes, Pulisic was active although his dribbling wasn’t as effective as recent games.

It was a frustrating result for Chelsea but it’s hard to fathom just how many important games one club can play, in the span of weeks, across three huge competitions. It’s hard not be distracted and maintain such a high level of intensity.

 

Miazga and Anderlecht draw

 

It was a disappointing result for Matt Miazga and Anderlecht on Wednesday when they played to a 1-1 draw with Genk. A win would have pulled Anderlecht even with Genk on points for second place, which is significant in that is the Champions League qualifying position. But in conceding a 67th minute equalizer, Anderlecht now remain three points behind Genk.

Miazga played the entire game while Mark McKenzie was an unused sub for Genk (Genk did not make any subs).

In this game Miazga had decent numbers although probably could have done better in marking the equalizing header from Paul Onuachu.

 

Still, Miazga continues to excel this season with his duel and aerial winning overall. His passing out of the back has also improved under Vincent Kompany.

  •         55 touches
  •         2 shots
  •         36/43 passing (84%)
  •         2/5 long balls
  •         10/13 duels won
  •         7/9 aerials
  •         5 clearances


There is still plenty of time for Anderlecht. These two teams will meet again this weekend, with Anderlecht hosting. Anderlecht then remains at home to take on Club Brugge before visiting Royal Antwerp to conclude the season.

Anderlecht has a clear path to finishing second but it really has to win on Saturday vs. Genk

 

German and Danish Cup finals

 

Two more Americans will have the opportunity to earn silverware on Thursday in the German and Danish Cup finals.

Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig will face off in Berlin for the DFB Pokal final. Gio Reyna should start for Borussia Dortmund but U.S. international Tyler Adams as been ruled out for Leipzig with a back injury – which kept him out of Saturday’s 3-2 Bundesliga loss to Dortmund.

In Denmark, Randers takes on Haji Wright and Sonderjyske.

 

Other American abroad stories

 

Weston McKennie and Juventus defeated Sassuolo 3-1 on Wednesday with Weston McKennie playing the final eight minutes. With two games remaining, Juventus is in fifth and a point out of the Champions League positions.

Staying in Serie A, Bryan Reynolds was an unused sub for AS Roma in a 3-1 loss to champions Inter Milan.

In La Liga, Yunus Musah played the final eight minutes for Valencia in a 1-0 loss to Sevilla.

In the Turkish Super Lig, Tyler Boyd was an unused substitute for Sivasspor in a 2-1 upset win over Fenerbahce.

In the relegation half of the Austrian Bundesliga, Brandon Servania started and played the full 90 and Tyler Both started and played 76 minutes for St. Poelten in a 3-3 draw vs. Altach. Andrew Wooten started and played 82 minutes for Admira Modling in a 0-0 draw with Ried. Erik Palmer-Brown started and played a full 90 for Austria Vienna in a 3-1 win over TSV Hartberg.

In the Copa Libertadores, Michael Hoyos came off the bench for Barcelona SC in a 2-0 loss to the Strongest in La Paz. Hoyos and Barcelona remain atop Group C  - ahead of Santos and Boca Juniors.

In Group B of the Copa Sudamericana, Alan Sonora started and played 45 minutes for Independiente in a 1-1 draw vs. Montevideo City Torque. In Group G, 2015 U.S. U-20 World Cup veteran Joel Sonora played the final nine minutes for Talleres de Cordoba in a 0-0 draw with Tolima.

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