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Wednesday kickaround

Wednesday kickoff: McKennie is back, Pulisic scores, PSV struggles, MLS preview, and more

ASN's Brian Sciaretta kicks off your Wednesday with a look back at the Juventus win over PSV where five Yanks played, plus other games in Europe. Also, a look ahead to a big Wednesday night in MLS.
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
September 18, 2024
6:10 AM

HAPPY WENDNESDAY to all ASN readers and it has been a busy midweek in American soccer as the Champions League got underway with several Yanks involved, plus we have a busy midweek slate of games in MLS with the playoffs on the horizon.

From an individual perspective, it was mostly good news as two of the most visible and established U.S. national team players in Weston McKennie and Christian Pulisic found the back of the net. That being said, five American players were on the wrong side of losses.

Then on Tuesday, three more Americans might participate in Europe’s top competition.

Let’s start in Turn.

 

Juventus tops PSV 3-1

 

After missing out on last year’s Champions League, Juventus returned to the tournament on Tuesday with an comfortable 3-1 win over PSV Eindhoven in Turin. In total, five Americans participated in this game – which is striking for American players as there have been some years where five Americans don’t even play in an entire Champions League tournament.

One observation I had is that PSV might not have benefited from such an easy schedule to start the Eredivisie season (they haven’t faced Ajax, Feyenoord, AZ, Twente, or any of the top-half teams yet). The Eredivisie is very top heavy in terms of quality and PSV was not in a rhythm of facing good teams. Then they had to go to Turn to face Juventus, which proved to be a bridge too far.

 

McKennie’s statement

The big takeaway is that Weston Mckennie started, played well, and scored the second Juventus goal. He was subbed out in the 75th minute.  



There is a lot to say about McKennie’s performance. The biggest is that it is still way too early to write off him not being in the plans of new manager Thiago Motta. I was one who thought McKennie was in a tough spot after he was frozen out of the team all preseason before signing his extension. Even after signing the extension, the signs didn’t appear to be great.

Yesterday, showed a completely different story – as did Motta’s quotes about McKennie after the game.

“I like Weston, like all other players,” Motta told Sky Sport afterward. “It was his time to start today. It’s a good result for starting the competition. Now, we must recover for the next game. Weston is part of a strong group... The important thing is not my decision. This is my duty. I must field the best 11. I am happy for McKennie. Like all the others, he’s working to improve. The important thing is that the team won today.”

McKennie has had a tough four months. He was benched when Max Allegri was fired towards the end of last season. His Copa America was poor, then he was frozen out of the preseason for Juventus, and it was murky once he signed.

The Dallas-area native still needs to work on a few things. His dual winning wasn’t great at 1/5 and he wasn’t regularly involved in the attack. But his passing was efficient, and the goal was critical for Juve to establish control of the game.

It’s amazing how for the third time McKennie has been written off at Juve (when he went on loan to Leeds, when he returned, and then this past summer) only for him to return to the club and make big contributions.

 

Four other Yanks feature

 

As for the rest of the Yanks, the day was mixed.

Tim Weah came off the bench in the 69th minute with the score 3-0 and didn’t really do too much. He wasn’t part of anything dangerous playing on the wing and defensively wasn’t tested. It was a chance to rest the starters ahead of a busy stretch of games.

Ricardo Pepi also wasn’t involved after coming into the game in the 76th minute. He had only four touches. It’s amazing how much PSV relies on 34-year-old Luuk de Jong, who has been very good but at some point will probably need to be rested. It is an open question whether PSV sees Pepi as his replacement.

Malik Tillman played all 90 minutes for PSV and was one of the team’s most dangerous players. That isn’t saying too much as PSV was overmatched, but Tillman has some impressive dribbles and slick passing to give PSV a pulse.

Richard Ledezma played 86 minutes at right back for PSV. As everyone knows, he is a makeshift fill-in option at the position. The club recently signed Rick Karsdorp from Roma but Ledezma will remain the starter until Karsdorp is fit. Overall, it was a tough day at the office for Ledezma. It wasn’t always his fault as he was hung out to dry by his teammates a few times. But he is behind the curve at the top levels in this position. Ledezma has been great against the lower half of the Eredivisie while playing for a very talented PSV team. This was a reality check for many who saw him as a top right back moving forward.

 

Pulisic scores in Milan loss


AC Milan hosted Liverpool on Tuesday night and while it started strong for Christian Pulisic and Milan, Liverpool came away with a deserved 3-1 win in Italy.

In fact, it was Pulisic who opened the scoring in just the third minute with a brilliant counterattack goal.



Pulisic continued to play well, but Liverpool was able to contain him. As the first half progressed, Liverpool began to have most of the opportunities. The English team had a 2-1 lead at the break, and the deficit could have been much worse for Milan at that point.

No question that Pulisic had a great week with a goal for the USMNT, a goal in Serie A, and now a Champions League goal. But Liverpool the gap between the teams is wide, just like it was for PSV and Juventus.

Meanwhile, Yunus Musah was an unused substitute for AC Milan against Liverpool. He is still in the process of trying to carve out a role with Milan under Paulo Fonseca – or possibly another coach if it is true that Fonseca is already on the hotseat. It’s an important time for Musah to establish himself.

 

Elsewhere in Europe

 

It was an epic day for Preston North End which defeated Fulham in the Carabao Cup on penalties after a 1-1 draw. The shootout was incredible with PNE prevailing 16-15. Duane Holmes was a part of this game but not the shootout as he was removed in the 86th minute. Antonee Robinson did not play.

It was a dismal day for Gaga Slonina who started in goal for Barnsley in a 7-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford. Solonina was not the reason why Barnsley was blown out, but he didn’t help things on a few goals, including being called for a penalty in the first half.

Chris Richards got the start for Crystal Palace in a 2-1 win over QPR, which could either be a good sign or a bad sign (as sometimes Premier League teams start backups in the Carabao Cup. But no question it was not good that Matt Turner didn’t even start this game for Palace.

In the Croatian Cup, Rokas Pukstas and Hajduk Split cruised past NK Bilogora 91 4-0.

 

MLS Full slate on Wednesday

There will be a full slate of games in MLS. ASN wasn’t able to get to an MLS roundup on Monday for the weekend games, but we will be back on Thursday to recap this matchday.

A few things happened this week.

Carlos Vela is returning to LAFC on a deal through the end of the season. It’s a feel-good move as the Mexican attacker is still wildly popular with LAFC. But when you watch LAFC’s recent collapse in El Traffico, the team doesn’t need another attacker. It needs better defense in the midfield and in the backline. Scoring goals isn’t a problem.

Benja Cremaschi signed a new contract with Inter Miami. He has a bright future ahead, and one that could eventually take him to the top leagues in Europe. But right now, why stop being a teammate of Messi, Suarez, Busquets, and Alba? He can learn a lot from those guys. Also, it should allow him to play with the U.S. U-20 team this cycle.

As for games happening tonight, here are a few storylines we’re watching.

Galaxy rolling: The Galaxy are now in a great spot to win the west. They’re now up seven points on LAFC. While they have played two more games, it also means more rest. Tonight they visit Portland, which won’t be easy as Portland can score a lot of goals. This game shouldn’t end 0-0, but if the Galaxy win this, they’ll probably win the West.

Minnesota climbing: Minnesota is climbing the standings having been boosted by the arrivals of important designated players. They’re not deep, but they can win games with everyone healthy. They’re in good shape having won three of four to move into ninth place. But tonight they have to host Cincinnati.

Philadelphia in limbo: The Union are still trying to climb out of a poor start to the season to make the playoffs. They were trending in the right direction but lost two out of their last three against good teams in Columbus and Miami. Tonight they visit New York City in a very important game.

Atlanta hosting Miami: It’s too early to say this is Atlanta’s last stand, but upsetting Miami tonight would go a long way towards putting them into the playoffs. It’s been a terrible season for Atlanta which is just hoping to salvage what they can before a huge offseason. Meanwhile, the Messi circus comes into town as it coasts towards the Shield.

Real Salt Lake sinking: Having lost three out of four, RSL needs to turn things around. They have a great home field advantage and welcome the disappointing FC Dallas tonight. We will learn a lot about RSL in this game.

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