Joe_scally_-_asn_top_-_monchengladbach_-_2022
Americans abroad analysis

Scally impresses, Pulisic nears return, Leeds falls, Mihailovic starts & much more

It wasn't the most eventful weekend for Americans abroad, but ASN's Brian Sciaretta opens up his notebook full of his thoughts and walks you through it all. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
March 06, 2023
7:30 AM

WHEN LOOKING at the weekend for Americans abroad, it was mostly uneventful. There weren’t too many high points or low points and most of the results and performances weren’t unexpected. But there is still a lot of ground to cover, as always.

But before we get to the games, there was some big news to report in that Christian Pulisic is now back in Chelsea’s squad for the first time since January. He will likely be on the bench for Chelsea on Tuesday for the second leg of its Champions League knockout with Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund won the first leg 1-0 and Chelsea is looking for a comeback.

While Taylor Booth did not play this weekend for FC Utrecht in its 2-1 loss to Fortuna Sittard due to injury. Dutch media VI is reporting that there is significant interest in Booth and the club does not expect him to be with Utrecht next year. While the report mentions that teams in the Big Five leagues are interested, they added that one of the teams in in the Champions League.

 

Per usual, we’ll talk about the top stories before looking at the various leagues.

 

Leeds United falls to Chelsea

 

On the heels of a big win over Southampton last week, Leeds United dropped a 1-0 decision to Cheslea on Saturday at Stamford Bridge. All three Americans started – Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, and Brenden Aaronson.

While none of the three were excellent, all were good enough. McKennie had a few bad passes here and there, but he remains one of the most offensively ambitious midfielders the team has. He is still getting used to this team but while he is not having any major offensive impacts, he is trending upward.

 

Adams, meanwhile, played a typical Adams game in the Premier League – covering a lot of ground, breaking up plays, winning duels, putting himself in good tactical positions, and getting the ball forward in a simple but effective manner.

Aaronson, meanwhile, was replaced in the 68th minute and was still playing better than others on his team (such as Jack Harrison, who is in a tough run at the moment). It looks like it is going to take the full season for him to really get up to the level he wants to be at in the Premier League but he is coming from the Austrian Bundesliga. But he is making progress in his game.

But will Leeds United survive the drop? It’s going to be close. They are out of the relegation zone only on goal differential (but have played one fewer game than Everton). Those April 4 and April 8 clashes at home against Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace, respectively, will likely determine their fate. This will be close.

 

Scally shines in M’Gladbach draw

 

Joe Scally, 20, might have been the best American player in Europe this weekend. The former NYCFC right back was excellent for Borussia Monchengladbach in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at home with Freiburg. Whether it be his passing (49/51 with 3/4 long balls), his offense (five passes into the final third, 2/2 in dribbles, 1/1 in crossing), his defense (five clearances, four recoveries), or his duel winning (4/6 in ground duels, 2/3 in aerials, 3x fouled, one foul committed), he excelled in all areas.



This was an important game for Scally after he had been on the bench the last three games. After last weekend’s disastrous 4-0 loss to Mainz, Scally got the opportunity and made the most of it. It’s an average season for M’Gladbach – which sits in 10th place. But I’d expect Scally to continue to get regular minutes.

While Sergino Dest still has a bright long-term future, his present season is a mess, and he is not playing. That likely could open the door for Scally to maybe play a lot this summer for the U.S. team.

 

Mihailovic starts in AZ win

 

It’s been an up and down time for Djordje Mihailovic, 24, since he arrived at AZ Alkmaar. He played initially but then dealt with an injury. But AZ has been playing well and is still third in the Eredivisie. It trails second place Ajax for a potential spot in the Champions League qualifiers. AZ was not expected to have this level of success this season and cracking that XI midseason has been tough for Mihailovic.



On Friday, Mihailovic returned to AZ’s XI with a visit to Vitesse. He wasn’t great in his 68 minutes on the field but overall, he did well. It was an effort that should keep him in the team’s starting lineup. His biggest moment came in the 65th minute when his left-footed shot hit the post.

An important note in this game is that USMNT scouts were in attendance to watch Mihailovic. Given his output in 2021 and 2022 in Montreal followed by his move to a very good AZ team, a call-up seems likely for March, and he should have an opportunity this summer with the two CONCACAF tournaments.

 

Standard Liege down Westerlo

 

Speaking of the USMNT scouting staff, they were on hand in Belgium on Saturday to watch Standard Liege defeat Westerlo 2-0. Two Americans played in this game, both at right back, Marlon Fossey for Standard and Bryan Reynolds for Westerlo.

Fossey in his 88 minutes was able to get into the attack easier given that Standard have more talent but also because Fossey plays more in a wingback formation with plenty of defensive cover behind him. Fossey had two good chances to score (his sixth minute shot was blocked from close range and his 61st minute header was off target). He created two other chances in this game for others.



Reynolds, 21, played more of a traditional right back role in this game. He had fewer touches in the final third but defensively, he won his duels and was effective in shutting down Standard on his side of the field.

For the U.S. national team staff, this game probably bodes well for Reynolds getting called up this month. After Sergino Dest, you have Joe Scally and then Reynolds as backup options who are also U-23 eligible for the 2024 Olympics. All three of those guys play the position in a manner similar to the U.S. team.

Fossey continues to have a good season and there is a case for him to merit a look for the U.S. team. But the question becomes how many right backs are needed. The problem for him also is that he plays the formation in a wingback role and that is different than the U.S. team. Right now, it can go either way for him to get a call-up. It then just depends on what happens with Dest, Scally, or Reynolds.

 

Steffen & Horvath get cleansheet wins

 

The two American goalkeepers in the Championship continue to have good seasons – despite both having some early season struggles.

Ethan Horvath, 27, made three saves for Luton Town in a 1-0 win over Swansea City on Saturday. Two of the saves were impressive diving stops. What made this outing important is that it showed a quick rebound from his last game (a 2-2 draw with Millwall) where he made a bad mistake on Millwall’s opening goal. Instead of that incident sending him into a funk, Horvath responded with a very solid outing. That win lifted Luton Town back into fifth place in the Championship and in the playoff positions again.

 

Things were much easier for Zack Steffen on Saturday as he didn’t have to make a save for Middlesbrough in a 5-0 pounding of Reading. Still, he continues to anchor a Boro team that is in third place and a likely spot in the promotional playoffs. With Sheffield United seemingly vulnerable at the moment, Boro is four points away from automatic promotion.

It is going to come down to the wire, but Horvath and Steffen are in contention for promotion. Despite not playing much at Arsenal, Turner will likely continue to get called up to the U.S. team. Horvath has only continued to help his chances and should remain on the team after making the roster for Qatar. As for Steffen, on paper he looks like someone to come back to the team. But that depends on the reasons why he was left off the roster for Qatar. Is that still an issue?

 

Maloney & Heidenheim in promotion hunt

 

In one of the more unexpected stories this year in Americans abroad, Lennard Maloney is continuing to have a nice season in the 2.Bundesliga with Heidenheim. The German-American’s only involvement with U.S. soccer to this date was a pair of U-20 callups in 2018. But since then, he has struggled for first team minutes at the club level.

Last summer he moved on a free deal from Borussia Dortmund to FC Heidenheim in the 2.Bundesliga and has switched positions from central defense to defensive midfield. On Saturday he had one of the best games of his season when he went the distance for Heidenheim in a 1-0 win over league-leading Darmstadt.

That win has made the race for promotion between  three runaway teams (the first two teams get promoted automatically while the third-place team goes through the playoff). Heidenheim is in third place with 46 points, second-place Hamburg has 48 points, while Darmstadt has 49. But Heidenheim is playing the best soccer of the three right now with three straight cleansheet wins.

Maloney, 23, was huge in the win over Darmstadt. His passing numbers were poor (22/50) but 10 of those 22 completed passes were into the final third. Defensively he was important – five interceptions, 6/10 ground duels won, 9/11 aerials won, 10 recoveries, 3/3 tackles.

It is nice to see him finally breaking through at the club level. As for the national team, he is probably still probably not close. He is not fast, and his style is completely different from Tyler Adams. If Maloney is backing up Adams, it would require the team to play very differently. That being said, maybe the current or next staff wants to give him a look. Certainly, the success of Heidenheim helps. But he is doing all he can right now to push his career forward on every level.

 

Yanks in Bundesliga

 

On Friday, Borussia Dortmund defeated Leipzig 2-1 as two Americans went as unused subs – Gio Reyna for BVB and Caden Clark for RB Leipzig. For one, it is a good sign. For the other, it is not. Reyna’s lack of minutes is frustrating for him but you can’t argue with making any changes to a club that is has now won 11 in a row in all competitions. Everyone knows Reyna has talent, but on this team he is now a luxury player to use as a bonus when needed. Unfortunately, there isn’t that need to use him and the results speak for themselves. As for Clark, he’s in a good spot and him now making the bench means that his Bundesliga debut is probably approaching sooner than later. I still think Leipzig will cooperate and let him play at the U-20 World Cup.

On Saturday, Mainz defeated Hoffenheim 1-0. The club has now lost six Bundesliga games in a row and has just one point from its last 10 games. American manager Pellegrino Matarazzo has been in charge of the last three games for Hoffenheim. He helped improve the defense, which was the team’s biggest problem before he arrived, but now the offense has come up short. It’s frustrating for him, but he knowingly took over a bad team – which is now in the relegation playoff position. The bottom four teams of the league are all on 19 points and separated by goal differential.

John Brooks, 30, remained on the bench for Hoffenheim and that is not a good sign as he is no longer playing, and the team’s defense has improved. He’s approaching a lost year, which is never good after you turn 30.

Union Berlin has had a tough three game run that has seen it fade from pushing Bayern Munich for the league-lead. On Saturday, the club played FC Koln to a 0-0 draw at home. American froward Jordan Perfok played the final 21 minutes and failed to make an offensive impact. He only had six touches, three completed passes, and one shot (a header he missed from close range). He also lost all five of his ground duels.

Finally in the Bundesliga, Kevin Paredes played the final 22 minutes for Wolfsburg in a 2-2 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt. It was a quiet day for Paredes who did not have much of an impact in this game either way as all the goals were scored before he came on. Still, he continues to be in a great position as a regular player for Wolfsburg. His U.S. U-20 teammate Paxten Aaronson was an unused sub for Eintracht as his Bundesliga debut is probably getting closer.

 

Yanks in the 2.Bundesliga

 

In the 2.Bundesliga, the best story (after Lennard Maloney) was on American-born manager Fabian Hurzeler who’s St. Pauli team is now a perfect 18 points from six game since he took control before his 30th birthday last year. The more interesting thing about Hurzeler is not that he was born in the United States (he left as a young child) but it’s that he traveled last year to Philadelphia to study the Union under Jim Curtin and Ernst Tanner.

Elsewhere, Terrence Boyd is having a nice season, but he was held in check by Magdeburg which defeated Boyd and Kaiserslautern 2-0. Boyd ended up playing 71 minutes in the loss.

George Bello played a very rare full 90 minutes for Arminia Bielefeld in a 3-3 draw with Eintracht Braunschweig on Sunday. Arminia remains in the relegation playoff position. While Bello’s season has been disappointing to date, perhaps getting a full 90 minutes will give him some needed confidence.

Greuther Furth played Hannover to a 1-1 draw with Hannover on Sunday. Julian Green played the final 19 minutes for 12th place Furth. Finally, Ryan Malone was an unused substitute for Hansa Rostock in a 2-0 loss at home to Karlsruher.

 

Yanks in the Premier League

 

Matt Turner watched from the bench as his Arsenal team defeated Bournemouth 3-2 on Saturday. Chris Richards likewise was an unused substitute for Crystal Palace in a 1-0 loss at Aston Villa. I would expect him to play rotational minutes in the final weeks and months of the season. I also think he will soon make a return to the national team. Alex Mighten scored a brace for Nottingham Forest’s reserves and was not in squad for the first team’s 2-2 draw with Everton on Sunday.

Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson will start for Fulham on Monday away at Brentford

 

Yanks in the Championship

 

Daryl Dike was held in check and did not have much of an impact on for West Brom on Friday in a 2-0 away loss to Hull City. Dike needs to find a way to be more useful when he is not scoring goals. He runs into trouble when he is held off the scoresheet.

Auston Trusty went the distance for Birmingham City in a lackluster 1-1 away draw with Wigan.

Injuries are affecting a number of players in the Championship – Lynden Gooch is out for Sunderland, Duane Holmes is out for Huddersfield, and Josh Sargent missed another game this weekend – Norwich’s big 3-2 win over Millwall. Norwich has won its last three games – all without Sargent.

I still think Sargent will walk back into the starting XI when he is healthy, but on a personal note it’s not particularly great that the club hasn’t missed him.

 

Yanks in the Eredivisie

 

Ricardo Pepi and Groningen suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 loss on the road to Feyenoord on Sunday. Pepi started for Groningen and left in the 87th minute with the score 0-0. Feyenoord found a winner a minute after he left the game.

Pepi worked really hard in this game and had three shots. He only had 27 touches and was just 3/9 in passing. Still, he won a lot of aerials and was doing what he could as his Groningen team was badly out matched but still competed well. In the end, however, Groningen remained in the relegation zone zone in 17th place.

Despite the loss, Pepi is having a great season and is learning how to make the most out of limited service. His scoring rate remains high despite Groningen having a disadvantage in talent in nearly every game.

 

Yanks in Italy & Spain

 

In Spain, Yunus Musah was removed from Valencia’s starting XI after a season where he is not helping his team enough in creating scoring chances. He played just the final 18 minutes in a 1-0 away loss to Barcelona. In his 12 minutes, he had 11 touches and was 7/8 in passing – with one shot blocked.

It is a weird situation. Valencia is in 19th place of La Liga and is two points deep in the relegation zone. Still, they have just a -1 goal differential. Typically, teams in the relegation zones are negative double digits. They are underperforming thus far. It seems unlikely a team near even in goal differential will go down. But, Musah needs to find a way to be part of the solution.

In Serie A, Sergino Dest again went as an unused sub for Milan in a 2-1 away loss to Fiorentina 2-1. He badly needs to find a club that wants him as this has been a lost season.

In Serie B, it was a big setback for Venezia in its relegation battle on a 3-0 away loss to Frosinone. Tanner Tessmann has been one of Venezia’s best players this season and he went 90 minutes. Andrija Novakovich still has yet to score and could not end the skid against his former team in his final 25 minutes. Gianluca Busio missed the game with a hip injury.

It’s going to be a big offseason for each of these three players once the Serie B season ends. Tessmann should be fine. He’s the best of the bunch and should also be eyed for the U.S. U-23 team. Busio hasn’t been a good fit in this league and he needs to be in a team that has more talent that most of the other teams in the league (like he did at Sporting KC). But Venezia paid a lot for Busio and moving him could be very difficult.  Novakovich also has not played his way into a step up.


Yanks in France

 

In Ligue 1, Tim Weah went 90 minutes for sixth place Lille in a 1-1 draw with Lens on Saturday. Weah started at left back but also played minutes in the second half of the right side. You can see in his touchmap, attacking left, that most of his touches are in the middle third of the field, he is rarely involved in the attack. He’s doing well, but it’s easy to see him moving to a different club this summer where he can be a winter again.

On Sunday, Erik Palmer-Brown started and played 90 minutes for Troyes in a 2-2 draw with Monaco. Palmer-Brown, 25, played on the left side of a three-man backline. While the draw against Monaco would normally be a great result, Troyes still find itself in the relegation zone. Palmer-Brown had 10 clearances in the draw.

 

Yanks in Belgium

 

Genk missed an opportunity to pad its lead atop the First Division table on Sunday after being held to a 2-2 draw away at St. Truiden. Mark McKenzie played the typical 90 minutes for the leaders – who are struggling with complacency after being atop the table comfortably for so long. After this game, Genk’s lead is now eight points. McKenzie is now in the hunt for his second piece of silverware since winning the Belgian Cup last season. The league title, however, would give him a great chance of participating in the Champions League next year.

 

Yanks in Portugal

 

In Portugal’s top tier, Alex Mendez played the final 14 minutes for Vizela in a 3-0 win over Estoril, which suffered its fourth loss in a row. Mendez assisted on the team’s final goal in the 83rd minute off a nice pass that sent Thomas Silva past the defense.  



It was the first assist of the season for Mendez.

On Friday, Boavista played Arouca to a 0-0 draw. Reggie Cannon was not in the squad for Boavista and Benji Michel was unused for Arouca. Even when healthy, Cannon’s season has been mixed. He hasn’t played right back in over a year. At central defense, he’s been passable but is likely not going to attract suitors – who will likely be drawn to natural central defenders. What will be his next option?

 

Yanks in Scotland

 

Matthew Hoppe, 21, made his first start for Hibernian and earned an assist in his club’s 4-1 away win over Livingston. He played 68 minutes in the win and it was 3-1 when he left).



Fellow American Scott Pittman played 70 minutes in the loss for Livingston. He is the club’s all-time leader in appearances.

Cameron Carter-Vickers played 90 minutes for runaway leaders Celtic in a 5-1 win over overmatched St. Mirren.

Ian Harkes played 70 minutes for Dundee United in a 3-1 loss at home to Aberdeen (Dante Polvara did not play in the win).

Malik Tillman missed Rangers 3-1 win over Kilmarnock on Saturday.

 

Yanks Elsewhere

 

Two young Americans started for Hajduk Split in an otherwise disappointing 4-3 loss at home to Lokomotiva. Agustin Anello, 20, played the first half at left wingback and picked up his first assist since joining the club last month. U.S. U-20 midfielder Rokas Pukstas went 90 minutes in the loss.

The assist from Anello was one of the best plays of the game.


 

Gedion Zelalem earned high marks, despite being on the wrong end of FC Den Bosch’s shocking 13-0 loss to PEC Zwolle in the Dutch second tier.



In Hungary’s top flight NB I, Henry Wingo played 90 minutes at right back for leaders Ferencvaros in a 1-1 draw with Mezokovsed SE on Friday. Meawhile, center forward Eduvie Ikoba played the second half for ZTE in a 3-1 loss to Paksi SE on Saturday.

In Austria’s Bundesliga, Sebastian Soto was not in the squad for Austria Klagenfurt in a 3-0 win over Altach on Sunday.

In the Danish Superliga, Christian Cappis played the final five minutes for Brondby in a 1-0 loss to Lyngby on Sunday. Emmanuel Sabbi played 68 minutes for an OB team that was reduced to nine players and was soundly beaten 7-0 by FC Copenhagen on Sunday.

In the Greek Super League, Caleb Stanko played the final 31 minutes for Lamia in a 2-1 win over Aris. Lamia moved out of last place with the win.

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