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Americans abroad

Pulisic, Downs, Aaronson, Pepi, & Balogun all impress, but injuries mount

ASN's Brian Sciaretta walks you through the weekend for Americans abroad in great detail, with lots of good, but too many injuries. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
September 30, 2024
12:05 AM

THE WEEKEND FOR AMERICANS abroad can be defined by injuries and goal contributions. Many top American players missed games while many who were able to play made significant contributions. There wasn’t much by way of middle ground.

The list of players who missed games due to injuries is long: Sergino Dest, Gio Reyna, Chris Richards, Tim Weah, Kevin Paredes, Griffin Yow, Richard Ledezma, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Lynden Gooch, Cade Cowell, Caleb Wiley, John Brooks, and Luca de la Torre (whose status is unclear).

But the weekend wasn’t a dud either. Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun, Paxten Aaronson, Damion Downs (twice), Ricardo Pepi (twice) and Quincy Butler in Austria are all among the noteable American players who scored. Meanwhile, Josh Sargent added two assists.

Of course, there are always going to be players who aren’t playing well. Haji Wright and Jordan Pefok have had poor starts to the season. Lennard Maloney’s minutes might be slipping at Heidenheim. The goalkeeping situation for the abroad contingent is dire.

But overall, there were many positives once you got past the injuries.

 

Yanks in the Premier League

 

Antonee Robinson and Fulham defeated Nottingham Forest 1-0 away on Saturday afternoon. Robinson, 27, went the full 90 at left back for Fulham and was his dependable and consistently solid self: 66 touches, 42/46 passing, 3/4 in long balls, and 3/3 ground duels won. Most of his touches were in the attacking half and he only lost possession once.

Fulham continue to enjoy a strong start to the season as they sit sixth in the Premier League with the win and are within striking distance of the top four.

On Friday, Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner revealed that USMNT central defender Chris Richards would miss Saturday's game against Everton as remain out for several weeks with a hamstring injury.

“We have lost Chris Richards this week and he is not available for the next few weeks with a hamstring injury,” Glasner stated.

If the timeline is correct, it will likely force Richards out for the national team’s first camp under Mauricio Pochettino. Richards has had a long history with injuries, but had been healthy for most of 2024.

Everton ended up defeating Palace 2-1 and Matt Turner went as an unused substitute in the loss. It was Everton’s first win of the year and they leapfrogged Palace which has just three points from six games. A relegation battle could await the London club.

Brighton’s Houston-born manager Fabian Hurzeler saw his team turn in a sloppy performance in a 4-2 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to fall to eighth in the Premier League while Chelsea rose to fourth.

Yanks in the Championship

 

Despite not scoring, Josh Sargent, 24, had one of his most influential games of the young 2024/25 season when he had 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.



The win saw Norwich climb to seventh place, which is good after a poor start to the season.

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 an his personality."



Brenden Aaronson continues his very good start to the Champions season for Leeds United on Saturday with an effective 90-minute shift. 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 competed 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.

Haji Wright has struggled to start the season for Coventry and that continued in this game. 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.

Leeds United moved into fifth place with the win while Coventry is outside the bottom three only through goal differential.

Aidan Morris had a quietly solid game for Middlesbrough on Saturday in a 2-0 win over Stoke City (who were missing American winger/right back Lynden Gooch due to injury). 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, and positive numbers winning duels, two shots, and six balls into the final third.

Overall, his first season in the Championship continues to be positive since moving from Columbus.

Duane Holmes started and went 90 minutes for Preston North End in a 3-1 loss away to Millwall. Holmes was active with his dribble and was constantly looking to attack, but Millwall were the better team on the day. Preston North End are now in the relegation zone, 22nd place, with five points from seven games.

At this point, Ethan Horvath is lucky to be relegated to the bench for Cardiff City - who are turning in consistently awful performances on a weekly basis. On Saturday, Cardiff City lost to Hull 4-1 to remain last in the Championship. They have just one point from seven games, they’ve score only two goals while conceding 17 for a -15 goal differential. These are tough days for Horvath and Cardiff City.

 

Yanks in Italy

 

At this point, you can almost pencil Christian Pulisic in for a goal before he plays in any game. On Friday, the USMNT 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 assist 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 once Pulisic was subbed out. He 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.

Juventus defeated Genoa 3-0 on the road in an empty stadium due to recent crowd problems at the Coppa Italia. Tim Weah was injured but Weston McKennie started and played 62 minutes in an outing where he was useful to his team in the win.

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 big 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. This has historically been a big strength of his, but 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 table with 12 points from six games.

Gianluca Busio went 90 minutes for Venezia on Sunday in a 2-1 away loss to Roma. The former Sporting KC product nearly scored in the 44th minute when his shot hit the right post, but fortunately for him, Joel Pohjanpalo scored in the ensuing scramble and Venezia had 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 created two chances off his 13/17 passing. Defensively, he was credited with five clearances.

Venezia sits in the bottom three, 18th out of 20, with four points from six games. Offensively, they have only scored four goals. 

In Serie B, Andrija Novakovich only played a few minutes of stoppage time for Bari as he was subbed into the game late in a 1-1 draw with Cosenza. Bari was limited offensively after a 54th minute red card. With the draw, Bari sits sixth in Serie B after seven games.

 

Yanks in the Bundesliga

 

Joe Scally gave a nice performance for Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday in a 1-0 win over Union Berlin. The USMNT right back went all 90 minutes and had 110 touches in a very active outing. He was competent on both sides of the ball, winning duels, tackline opposing attackers, and playing the ball forward. The win snapped a two-game losing skid and put M’Gladbach into 10th place.

The news wasn’t as positive for Jordan Pefok who went 79 minutes for ninth-place Union Berlin and was invisible and ineffective. The one-time USMNT forward failed to register a shot and was just 6/14 in his passing.

Gio Reyna is making progress but was still not included in the roster for Borussia Dortmund in a 4-2 win over Bochum. This win helps put some distance between last week’s horrific 5-1 loss to Stuttgart.

Recent U.S. Olympic team winger Kevin Paredes continues to be sidelined, and he missed Wolfsburg’s 2-2 draw with Stuttgart on Saturday. Wolfsburg remained in 13th place with four points from five games.

Lennard Maloney is typically a starter for Heidenheim, but he only entered Saturday’s game in the 89th minute as his team posted a 2-0 win over Mainz. Mainz was reduced to 10 men in the 28th minute while Heidenheim’s Niklas Dorsch was sent off in the 80th minute. Heidenheim’s strong start to the season continued as the small club has nine points from five games to sit fifth. Maloney is a limited offensive player, and his strength is as a defensive presence in the midfield. His form has been inconsistent to start the season.

Timmy Chandler was an unused substitute for Eintracht Frankfurt in a 4-2 away win over Holstein Kiel on Sunday. Eintracht moved into second place with the with win (12 points from five games, one point behind Bayern Munich). Holstein Kiel sit last with just one point and a -10 goal differential.

Sunday proved to be a disaster for American head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo and his Hoffenheim team. Hoffenheim jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Werder Bremen by just the 12th minute. But Hoffenheim’s Stanley Nsoki was sent off in the 18th minute with a straight red card and from there, it was a collapse. Werder Bremen score three goals by the 39th minute to even the game at halftime. Then in the 49th minute, Werder Bremen moved ahead for good and cruise to a 4-3 win.

With the loss, Hoffenheim sunk into the bottom three (16th out of 18) with just three points from five games.

 

Yanks in the 2.Bundesliga

 

Damion Downs, 20, was one of the start performers of the weekend for Americans in Europe when he scored two goals in the opening 15 minutes for Koln in their game at Karlsruher on Saturday. What was impressive about Downs is that the quality of each of his goals was first rate. 



His second goal gave Koln a 3-0 lead on Karlsruher but overall, it was a disappointing day for Koln. They had a 3-0 lead followed by a 4-2 lead at halftime, but had to settle for a 4-4 draw. Downs was subbed out in the 62nd minute. With the draw, Koln, slipped to eighth place in the 2.Bundesliga and they have made a bad habit of squandering leads. Only five teams in the league have conceded more goals than Koln 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 Koln is one of the bigger clubs in the 2.Bundesliga, it will be hard to hold on to him if they don’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 looks.

Santiago Castaneda, 19, played all 90 minutes for Paderborn in a 2-2 away draw against Hamburg on Saturday. His central midfield partner Filip Bilbija scored both Paderborn's goals in the draw. Paderborn remains undefeated on the season but this was their fourth draw in seven games to remain in fourth place. Still, an away draw with fifth place Hamburg is a positive result for Paderborn.

The fact Castaneda is still going 90 minutes is significant. He has the trust of his teammates and his coaching staff.

In this game, Castaneda didn't stand out much on offense or in possession but it was still a competent outing to help his club in what they hope will be a promotional hunt.

Greuther Furth dropped their second game in a row with a 2-1 loss at home to leaders Fortuna Dusseldorf on Friday. The loss saw Furth drift back towards midtable.

Julian Green had 69 touches over a full 90 for Furth. He had no shots but he created three chances. He won 4/7 of his ground duels and 2/3 in his tackles as he put in a decent two-way effort in the loss.

Recent U.S. Olympic veteran Max Dietz went 90 minutes on the right side of a three-man backline for Furth. He only won 1/6 of his ground duels but completed 79/84 in his passes (including 2/2 in long balls).

John Brooks continues to be missed for Hertha BSC as his injury saw him unable to help Hertha in its ugly 4-1 loss to Elversberg at home. The loss saw Hertha fall to seventh in the 2.Bundesliga.

Staying in the 2.Bundesliga, Texas-born forward Johan Gomez subbed into Eintracht Braunschweig’s 3-1 loss at SVV Ulm in the 88th minute. All the goals were scored by that point and Braunschweig was down to 10 men at that time. The loss saw Eintracht Braunschweig fall to 17th place with four points from seven games. Gomez was not involved in anything of note.

Managed by California native Joe Enochs, Jahn Regensburg remained in last place of the 2.Bundesliga following Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Kaiserslautern at home.

 

Yanks in the Netherlands

 

Of all the American players in Europe this past weekend, no one had a more important performance than Ricardo Pepi who 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 them 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's 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."

"Towards 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 line-up, that will be frustrating. But that is his fate, and that is what he was told when he came here. Earnest Stewart 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, then 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."

Also in this game, Malik Tillman played the first half before being subbed out (likely due to Tuesday's game). He nearly scored in the opening half but had a shot cleared off the line.

Richard Ledezma was not in the squad and local media reports that he has missed the last two games with a minor injury.

Things will soon become more difficult for PSV after the October international window as their Eredivisie schedule will become tougher. Their first seven games have all come against teams predicted to finish in the bottom half of the league.

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 he seized the day.

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.

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.

 

The news is less clear for Taylor Booth who only came into the game in the 84th minute to help preserve the lead. His role there has been declining this past year dating back to last season.

Anthony Fontana was not in the squad for PEC Zwolle in its 1-0 win over Almere City in the Eredivisie.

In the second tier Eerste Divisie, Zach Booth, 20, went the final 20 minutes for Excelsior in a 4-2 win over Jong AZ Alkmaar on Friday. The score was 2-2 when Booth entered, and the win moved Excelsior to the top of the table through eight games. Booth had 11 touches in his time on the field and was 4/6 in passing.

Also, in the Eerste Divisie, Rickson van Hees went 90 minutes for Jong Utrecht in a 1-1 away draw with ADO den Haag. Jong Utrecht sit last in the league with just three points out of eight games.

 

Yanks in Ligue 1

 

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 were 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 and 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 a winner 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. This is why he’s streaky and the goals come in bunches, while there are also stretches where he’s frustrating. 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 sit second with 16 points from six games. They only trail PSG on goal differential.

Two Americans faced off against each other from the opening whistle on Sunday when Lyon defeated Toulouse 2-1 on Sunday after finding a stoppage time winner. Mark McKenzie went 90 minutes in the loss for Toulouse while Tanner Tessmann made his first start for Lyon and played 67 minutes.

For Tessmann, it was a good first performance for the club from the starting lineup. He was efficient with his passing (32/36) and played eight balls into the attacking third. Positionally, he did well defensively to help Lyon be in good shape to earn a result on the road.  If Tessmann can continue to start for Lyon, he has a golden chance to get a chance with the national team under Pochettino.

As for McKenzie, he had a decent outing. On Lyon’s winning goal, McKenzie made a huge diving block on the initial shot but none of his teammates were able to make a clearance after it came off him.  Lyon was there for the rebound. With the results, Lyon rose to 11th while Toulouse fell to 15th after six games.

Emannuel Sabbi was solid off the bench for Le Havre on Saturday but he could do nothing to stop his team from dropping a 3-0 decision at home to Lille. Sabbi, 26, played the final 31 minutes and was effective with the physical side of the game winning 5/6 duels, earning three free kicks, and defending well. But the score was 2-0 and he was unable to spark a comeback. But Sabbi was overall a rare positive on a tough day for Le Havre which sits in 13th place in the 18-team league with six points from six games.

Caleb Wiley continues to deal with tendonitis and missed Strasbourg’s big 1-0 win over third-place Marseille on Sunday. Strasbourg rose to eighth place with the win.

 

Yanks in Belgium’s First Division

 

On Saturday, Westerlo defeated Standard Liege 2-1 on the road to move into fourth place while Standard Liege fell to ninth place. Both teams started American right wingbacks who are looking to make big inroads with the USMNT.

Bryan Reynolds, 23, started for Westerlo and went all 90 minutes in the win. The biggest knock on him was that he conceded the penalty in the 63rd minute for a foul on Ilay Camara which resulted in Stanard’s only goal. Aside from that mistake, it was a good performance from Reynolds who covered his right side well and created two dangerous chances.

Marlon Fossey, 26, was probably the best player for Standard in the loss. He created four dangerous chances and should have had an assist in the first half but was let down by his teammates. He also had four clearances, was 2/2 in his tackles, and won 3/3 of his ground duels in a very complete effort.

In terms of which player is ahead in the USMNT depth chart, it will be up to Mauricio Pochettino. Fossey is playing well, but so is Reynolds. Reynolds is also younger and doesn’t have the tough injury history of Fossey.

When Sergino Dest returns, both will be in a tougher position with the USMNT. But for now, this is their best chance to get call-ups and opportunities to impress.

Kahveh Zahiroleslam, 22, played 69 minutes for St. Truiden in a 1-1 away draw with Cercle Brugge on Sunday. The result saw St. Truiden continue to climb away from the First Division basement and into 13th place in the 16-team league. Zahiroleslam was largely held in check with only one shot and modest stats across the board. He left with St. Truiden trailing 1-0.

 

Yanks in Spain

 

Luca de la Torre, 26, is listed as having an injury, yet he was able to play in the last international window for the U.S. team and there were preseason reports of him not being in Celta Vigo’s plans. Regardless of the mixed signals, it doesn’t look good for the central midfielder from San Diego. He has yet to make a matchday roster this season and he watched on Sunday as ninth-place Celta Vigo played Girona to a 1-1 draw at home in La Liga.

Things were definitely a little better for Johnny Cardoso came off the bench for Real Betis against Espanyol in the 79th minute with the score 0-0 and he ended up going to the last 11 minutes in what turned out to be a 1-0 victory thanks to an 85th minute goal from Giovani Lo Celso. It was a short but sweet shift for Cardoso, 22, who wasn’t part of the winning goal but did go a perfect 10/10 in passing, 2/2 in tackles, and 2/3 in ground duels won. He was very sharp defensively as he forced an important turnover with Espanyol pushing for the equalizer.

With the win, Real Betis moved into eighth place in La Liga with 12 points from eight games. As for Cardoso, he certainly didn’t hurt his chances to return to Manuel Pellegrini’s starting lineup.

 

Yanks in Liga MX

 

Brandon Vazquez has been playing well but he had 65 very ineffective minutes on Saturday for Monterrey in a 1-1 draw with Chivas (who were without Cade Cowell). Vazquez didn’t have a shot and was just 4/6 in his passing (he didn’t even have an aerial attempt, which is his strength). Part of this is on Vazquez, but his team also failed to give him any sort of service. The draw was costly for Monterrey, which fell to fourth place as a result.

On Sunday, Alejandro Zendejas played the final 23 minutes for Club America in a 1-0 loss at home to Pumas. It’s been a poor season for Club America which is in 11th place in Liga MX after 10 games. Zendejas has been battling injuries and has only played 275 minute across five games this season for Club America.

Alex Mendez did not get off the bench for FC Juarez on Fridayin the club’s 3-2 away win over Puebla. Despite the win, Juarez sits last in Liga MX with seven points from 10 games. It’s been a tough, tough start to the season for Mendez who has played just 18 minutes, so far.

Veteran midfielder Joe Corona also did not get off the bench for Club Tijuana in a 1-0 win over Mazatlan on Friday. Club Tijuana moved into fifth place with the win.

Former U.S. U-20 midfielder Fernando Arce, Jr. went 90 minute for Necaxa in a 0-0 away draw with Queretaro on Friday night. Necaxa sits 10th through 10 rounds.

Former New York Red Bull midfielder Frankie Amaya was an unused substitute for Toluca in a 4-1 win over Atlas. Toluca sits second with 21 points from 10 games.

 

Yanks Elsewhere

 

In the Scottish Premiership, Auston Trusty go the start for Celtic in a thorough 6-0 romp over hosts, St. Johnstone. Celtic dominated the game with 79% possession, a 19-5 edge in shots (11-1 on target), and a completed passes advantage of 609-138. Trusty completed 102 passes (nearly 17% of Celtic’s total) out of 107 attempts. Just three of his attempts (3/3) were long range. But 17 of his passes were into the final third as he helped keep up Celtic’s pressure. He also won 4/5 of his aerials.

These types of performances, like we have seen from his teammate Cameron Carter-Vickers (who missed this game with a toe injury), are tough to read. Celtic is so much better than their opponents in the Premiership (save the Old Firm derby) that their defenders are not tested much and their biggest responsibility is to make many, often easy, passes to keep up pressure.

In the Danish Superliga, Andres Jasson played 78 minutes for Aalborg BK in a 3-0 win over SonderjyskE on Sunday. Former New York Red Bull and Danish youth international Mathias Jorgensen had a hat trick for AaB while Jasson assisted on the opening goal in the 48th minute. Playing as a right midfielder, Jasson, 22, was very dangerous in his 78-minute shift where he created chances, passed well, and dribbled effectively. He was the second-best player on the field behind Jorgensen. AaB started to climb away from the bottom of the table and into ninth with 12 points from 10 games.

Jose Gallegos was an unused sub for SonderjyskE which is in 10th place, four points behind AaB.

Also in Denmark, Jonathan Amon played 78 minutes for Lyngby in a 2-2 draw with Silkeborg. The South Carolina native was aggressive with the dribble and with his crosses, but he was subbed out with the score 1-1. Lyngby sits 11th in the 12-team league.

In Norway’s Eliteserien, Christian Cappis was subbed into Viking’s 4-1 away win over Lillestrom in the 86th minute. Viking remained in fourth place with the win.

In the relegation round robin of Finland’s Veikkausliiga, IF Gnistan defeated AC Oulu 1-0 on Friday. American goalkeeper AJ Marcucci, on loan from the New York Red Bulls, picked up the clean sheet in the win. Gnistan leads the round robin and would be entered into a playoff for a Conference League qualifying spot if they win the round robin. AC Oulu sits third and are not in realistic danger of being relegated. They were missing their American forward Justin Rennicks due to injury.

In Ireland’s Premier Division on Friday, Galway United defeated Waterford UFC 2-1 on the road. The win moved Galway United, who are managed by Bronx-born John Caulfield, into fourth place with four games remaining in the season. Chicago-area native Patrick Hickey, 26, assisted on Galway’s equalizing goal in the 61st minute. Hickey has four goals and three assists in all competitions for Galway in the 2024 season. He was subbed out in stoppage time. Fellow American midfielder Vincent Borden, 25, went 85 minutes in the win.



In Argentina’s Primera, Matko Miljevic was an unused substitute for Newell’s Old Boys in a 3-3 away draw with Deportivo Riestra on Friday. Alan Sonora played the final 19 minutes for second-place Huracan in a 1-1 away draw with Godoy Cruz. They now trail leaders Velez Sarsfield by five points.

In Uruguay’s Primera, it was a huge let down for leaders Danubio who came into Saturday’s game against Montevideo Wanders with four wins from four games – and without having conceded a goal. In this game, they took a 2-0 lead into second half stoppage time but inexplicably conceded two very late goals and had to settle for a 2-2 draw. American left back/central defender Matias Fracchia, 29, played the whole game for Danubio. Danubio still remains a top the table with 13 points from five games, but this was a major disappointment as they squandered two points and lost their perfect start.

In the Swiss Super League, Konrad de la Fuente played the final 28 minutes for Lausanne in a 1-0 loss to Servette. He was ineffective with just nine touches, 3/6 passing, 0 shots, 0 chances created. Lausanne sits 10th in the 12-team league.

In the Austrian Bundesliga, LASK played Rapid Vienna to a 1-1 away draw. George Bello went 90 minutes at left back and the former Atlanta United product turned in a good, full 90 performance winning 4/5 tackles and 5/9 ground duels. He also was smooth with his passing. LASK is still trying to recover from a poor start to the season and they now have seven points from eight games.

Staying in the Austrian Bundesliga, Quincy Butler started and opened the scoring for WSG Tirol in a 3-1 away win over Wolfsberger on Sunday. The former Sacramento Republic winger's 47th minute goal was his second of the season and it made the score 1-0. Butler, 22, played 77 minutes in the win and while the goal was positive, he also lost all 12 of his duels (0/7 ground duels, 0/5 in his aerials) and was 0/2 in his dribbles.

In Croatia’s HNL, Rokas Pukstas played the final 13 minutes for Hajduk Split on Sunday in a 0-0 draw with Rijeka. It was a matchup of the top two teams in the league. The Oklahoma midfielder only had six touches but he was 4/4 in passing – including creating a late chance with a delivery into the box. Normally a starter, it was unusual to see Pukstas on the bench for this one. With the result, Rijeka remained in first place but only goal differential separates them from Hajduk Split.

In Poland’s top tier Ekstraklasa, Korona Kielce dropped a 3-2 decision at home to leaders Lech Poznan. Former Phoenix Rising attacker Danny Trejo entered the game in the 81st minute for Korona Kielce while Ian Hoffmann was not in the squad for Lech Poznan. Korona Kielce fell to 15th place in the 18-team league.

WSG Tirol sits ninth in the 12-team league.

In Iceland’s Besta Deildin, Aron Johannsson played 66 minutes for Valur in a 3-2 loss at home to runaway leaders Vikingur Reykjavik. Johannsson was subbed out with Valur up 2-1. Valur remained in third place with the loss.

In England’s third-tier League One, Charlie Kelman went 90 minutes for Leyton Orient in a 0-0 draw with leaders Wrexham. The 22-year-old forward had a good chance to put Leyton Orient up in just the third minute but missed his close shot wide left. Wrexham sits second in League One while Leyton Orient sits 18th.

Staying in League One, it was a frustrating day for Barnsley which was on the verge of a 1-0 win over Stockport County which would have moved the club into third place. Barnsley couldn't hold on, however, and conceded a goal in stoppage time to settle for a 1-1 draw. Young American goalkeeper Gaga Slonina had good performance overall with five saves. His best one came in the 72nd minute when he saved a header from just six yards out.

Donovan Pines played the last 12 minutes for Barnsley but wasn't able to help alleviate the pressure as Barnsley was simply trying to hold on.

Instead of second place, Barnsley will end the weekend in sixth.

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