Jordan_siebatcheu_-_asn_top_-_young_boys_hat_trick_-_2-3-21
Midweek musings

Siebatcheu nets hat trick, Weah scores, possible player movement for Harper & Che

ASN's Brian Sciaretta breaks down the impressive hat trick from Jordan Siebatcheu, the rest of the midweek games, and even more player movement taking place after the end of the main European transfer window. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
February 02, 2021
10:00 PM

THERE WERE A lot of Americans involved in games midweek and there was still a lot of news, despite the end of the transfer window. It is once a reminder that the news never stops.

On the domestic front, MLS teams continue to sign players and make deals despite the lockout deadline now 24 hours away. The fact there is less media leaking seems to suggest some sort of progress.

The New York Red Bulls are reportedly on the verge of signing American winger Cameron Harper, 19, from Celtic. Harper was slated to be one of the top players on the U.S. U-20 team and this would allow him to play regularly and put him into the Red Bull organization. But with the Red Bulls having a youth-oriented approach under new manager Gerhard Struber, this is a positive development for Harper and the Red Bulls. Success in New York will only open doors for Harper.

The 2003-born class in MLS is looking to be a very strong one. FC Dallas homegrown defender Justin Che is just one of them. He’s going on loan to Bayern Munich the rest of the season where he will likely play for the club’s U-19 team. Che, 17, will probably return to FC Dallas afterward and push for first team minutes, but this will get him on the radar of many teams moving forward. Last season, he was impressive in USL for North Texas SC.

 

With that said, here is a look at the games.

 

Siebatcheu’s hat trick

On Wednesday, Jordan Siebatcheu, 24, had himself a big day in the Swiss Super League for league leaders BSC Young Boys with a hat trick in a 4-1 win over FC Zurich. The Washington, DC-born forward scored his fifth, sixth, and seventh goal of the season despite only having six starts on the season – on loan from Rennes in France

In December, he had back-to-back braces and now he added a hat-trick. While most of his goals are typically from headers or on scrambles in the box, none of his three goals on Wednesday were from headers. All three were with his feet on counter attacks.

 

 

 

Siebatcheu had a really rough time in his last two seasons with Rennes where he gradually fell out of favor, despite the club spending eight figures to acquire him from Reims.

Despite not being a regular starter for BSC Young Boys, Siebatcheu is improving as a player and the club is finding the right situations where he can be useful. Siebatcheu isn’t a well-rounded forward but he is very useful in situations where he can get in the air or use his speed on counter attacks. He doesn’t typically beat defenders with a dribble but he’s fast and strong.

ASN spoke with Siebatcheu last year and, while he played in friendlies once with France’s U-21 tea, would accept a U.S. call-up now. The U.S. forward pool has become more crowded both domestically and abroad. In addition to Josh Sargent, Gyasi Zardes, and Jozy Altidore, other players such as Daryl Dike, Jeremy Ebobisse, Nicholas Gioacchini, Sebastian Soto, Jesus Ferreira, Andrija Novakovich, Haji Wright, have all made cases. Aron Johannsson and Julian Green are pushing to reenter the field.

Siebatcheu can still get a look but he will have to continue to keep it up. Wednesday was a strong statement – both in scoring three goals but also in the different way he scored them.

 

Weah scores for Lille

 

In Ligue 1, Tim Weah, 20, earned a rare start for Lille away at Bordeaux. The New York-born Weah started up top in a 4-4-2 formation and scored the team’s second goal in the 65th minute. Lille went on to win 3-0.

It was just his third start and his third goal of the season for the Ligue 1 leaders.

 

Overall, his numbers showed that he was efficient but his touches were generally few and far between with 20 over 81 minutes. In generally, he wasn’t involved that much outside of the goal.

  •         81 minutes
  •         20 touches
  •         1 shot
  •         1 goal
  •         12/15 passing - 80%
  •         1 chance created
  •         2 crosses
  •         2 duels won (3 lost)
  •         0 dribbles
  •         0x fouled
  •         2 fouls
  •         1 tackle (2 attempts)
  •         1 aerial won (0 lost)
  •         0 clearances, interceptions

 

Midweek games typically force Lille into squad rotation and all three of Weah’s starts have come at a time when the club was in a tight stretch of three games in at least an eight-game span.

It will be tough for Weah to be a starter on a regular basis because the other forwards are also playing well. Jonathan David is back on track after a slow start to the season and Yusuf Yazici also scored on Wednesday to see all three forwards find the back of the net.

While he is still at just 421 minutes on the season, the fact that he is playing regularly is very positive after a lost season in 2019/20.

 

Brooks best Hoppe in German Cup

 

Wolfsburg advanced to the German Cup quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over Schalke on Wednesday. John Brooks got the start for Wolfsburg while American teenage forward Matthew Hoppe with the start for Schalke. Hoppe, while talented, is being forced to adjust to the fact that opponents are now focused in on stopping him. Given that Schalke lacks talent, stopping Hoppe is a big part of stopping Schalke.

In this game, Hoppe won a very healthy percentage of his duels and aerials and that was reflected in that he worked extremely hard. But in the end, there was only so much he could do and did not touch the ball that much.

 

John Brooks meanwhile didn’t standout out as much has he has in recent weeks but did more than enough to see Wolfsburg through. This continues to be the best season of his career and the Champions League well within reach for Brooks. That is more important than the German Cup at this point.

 

For Hoppe, he is in a great situation where he is playing a lot. His recent stretch of five goals in three games was thrilling but being a consistent contributor is his biggest challenge. Even if he is not scoring, he needs to find ways to be dangerous every game. In this game, he had one chance where he was close and his shot was just wide, but was quiet aside from that. Schalke is a tough environment at the moment given its lack of talent, but Hoppe will continue to learn with more minutes.

 

Adams & Leipzig advance

 

Tyler Adams earned the start for RB Leipzig on Wednesday in a 4-0 win over Bochum in the German Cup. Adams played on the right side of the midfield and was decent but unspectacular in the win. Yussuf Poulsen had two goals and was the MOTM for Leipzig.

Adams, 21, saw plenty of the ball and won his duels and was quietly competent.

  •         90 minutes
  •         80 touches
  •         44/56 passing (79%)
  •         0 shots
  •         1 key pass
  •         0/2 long balls
  •         6 duels won (5 lost)
  •         0 dribbles
  •         1x fouled
  •         0 tackles
  •         2 aerials won (1 lost)
  •         1 interception
  •         1 foul
  •         0 clearances

For Adams, he continues to build a case to start most games for Leipzig even if it isn’t in his preferred central role most of the time. That will likely come over time.

 

Robinson strong in Fulham loss

 

In one sense, it has been a good season for United States national team left back Antonee Robinson who is generally one of Fulham’s better players on a regular basis. On the flip side, Fulham is struggling and seems destined for relegation. What must be frustrating for Robinson, this is his fourth season as a first-team starter and every single season has been a relegation battle. One with Bolton, two with Wigan, and now one with Fulham.

On Wednesday, Fulham dropped a 2-0 decision to third-place Leicester City to fall eight points deep in the relegation hole. Robinson was really strong in his dribbling, duel winning, and was rarely beaten on his side of the field. On the flip side, he wasn’t able to push into the final third as much as he typically likes.

 

Will Robinson remain with Fulham if they are relegated this season? That is the big open question. He’s done enough where he will get interest and you have to remember AC Milan was interested last year. He’s known and respected. It comes down to what Fulham want for him and how much other teams will be willing to spend.

He’s done well enough at a tough position to fill to figure that some team out there will spend a lot for him despite Fulham’s struggles.

 

Some Americans struggle

 

It wasn’t all good news for Americans on Wednesday. A few players had tough days.

Emmanuel Sabbi was sent off for picking up two yellows for OB Odense on Wednesday against Lyngby. It was the first game back from the Danish Superliga winter break. Sabbi was sent off in the 68th minute. It was 0-0 when Sabbi was sent off and Lyngby went on to win 1-0.

Ethan Horvath earned a rare start for Club Brugge for a Belgian Cup matchup against fourth tier Olsa Brakel. While Club Brugge went onto win 6-1, Horvath was mostly at fault for Olsa Brakel’s 9th minute equalizer. He attempted to head away a long ball from danger just outside his box. Unfortunately for Horvath, his header found Brackel’s Kevin Haezebroeck who easily chipped the ball over Horvath and into the empty net.

Sergino Dest, meanwhile, came off the bench for Barcelona against Granada in the Copa del Rey. Barcelona trailed 2-0 late but rallied to force extra time and scored the first goal of extra time. Dest committed a penalty (which was soft) to set up Granada’s equalizer to make it 3-3. Barcelona, however, would go on to win 5-3.

 

Elsewhere in Europe

 

German-American attacking midfielder Jann George scored for Jahn Regensburg in the German Cup as his 2.Bundesliga team advanced past FC Koln of the Bundesliga in a shootout following a 2-2 draw.

In Turkey, U.S. national team winger Tyler Boyd made his club debut for Sivasspour in a 0-0 draw against Erzurum BB. The New Zealand-born winger came on in the 55th minute. It was Boyd’s first appearance since early October while with Besiktas. Midweek he joined Sivasspour on loan for the remainder of the Super Lig season.

In Scotland’s Premiership, Ian Harkes played the full 90 minutes for Dundee United in a 2-1 loss to Motherwell on Wednesday.

In the Budapest Derby, former Seattle Sounder Henry Wingo, 24, started and played 74 minutes for Hungarian leaders Ferencvaros in a 4-0 away win over Ujpest. It was Wingo's first start for the club after transfering from Molde last month.

In the Championship, New Jersey native Matthew Olosunde earned the start at right back for Rotherham United in a 3-0 win over Derby County. Olosunde, 22, played 69 minutes but all the goals were scored after he was subbed out.f

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