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Morning update

Yanks in European competitions: Adams and Reynolds star in Europa League action

ASN is here to look at the performances of Americans on Thursday in a busy day in both the Europa League and Conference LEague
BY Paul Stephens Posted
October 23, 2026
9:00 AM

THE 2026/27 EUROPA LEAGUE is the hotbed for Americans abroad as most of the key veterans of the U.S. national team are on teams in the second-tier European competition. On Thursday, most were in action and the performances were mixed.

Let’s get into it.

 

Yanks in The Europa League

 

For now, we will start with the two games that were heavy with American players.

AFC Bournemouth 3-0 AC Milan

In England, AFC Bournemouth welcomed AC Milan into town in a game that was heavy with Americans. U.S. national team captain Tyler Adams had the best performance and was very consequential to the win.

In the 27th minute with Bournemouth already up 1-0, Adams grabbed Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan during a corner. Maignan responded with a blow to Adams’ face. The result was that Adams received a yellow card, Maignan was issued a red card, and Bournemouth was awarded a penalty. Marcus Tavernier scored on the ensuing kick and from there Bournemouth was in complete control



Adams had a very good performance before being subbed out in the 61st minute, likely to rest him for this weekend’s game. But Adams gave Milan no room to operate in the midfield as he showcased his elite defensive capabilities when at the top of his game.

Meanwhile, Yunus Musah played all 90 minutes and struggled. Even before Milan was reduced to 10 players, he was careless with his turnovers and did not connect the ball into the attack. Finally, Christian Pulisic did not get off the bench as Milan essentially had no chance to make a comeback after Maignan was sent off and the penalty was converted.

 

Juventus 2-2 Rennes
 

Juventus and Rennes played to a 2-2 draw in Turin on Thursday with Weston McKennie playing 90 minutes in central midfield for Juventus while Bryan Reynolds continued to raise his game with Rennes as he went 90 minutes. Both players spent key years developing within the FC Dallas academy.

McKennie had his moments in the attack and was part of the build-up in the opening goal scored by Zeki Çelik.



Reynolds, however, had another big performances for Rennes and assisted via a header on an equalizer to make the score 1-1.



Reynolds could be pushing for a return to the national team sooner than later given Mauricio Pochettino’s inclination to play Sergino Dest on the wing. After Alex Freeman, the next options are Frankie Westfield (who will likely play with the Olympic team for the next two years) and Joe Scally (who is playing for a terrible Borussia Monchengladbach team).

 

Tillman assists in Bayer win

 

Malik Tillman started and played 74 minutes for Bayer Leverkusen in a 2-0 win over OFI Crete. He also picked up an assist on the team’s second goal.



The question or Tillman is when or if is relatively strong performances in the Europa League will give him another chance to start in Bundesliga games. He has not made a start in Germany’s top league since September 5. Instead, he has been used to start Europa league games, which have all come against teams from much smaller leagues (Greece, Poland, and Slovenia).

He’s been playing well in the Europa but is still not seen as an essential part of the team’s plans for more important games.

 

Elsewhere in the Europa

 

Chris Richards played 90 minutes for Crystal Place in a 2-2 draw away against Beskitas in Istanbul. While this was not a win, it was a step in the right direction for Palace – who have been in poor form recently. Zavier Gozo is not rostered by Crystal Palace for the Europa League.

Tanner Tessmann started for Lyon away at Hoffenheim but was subbed out at halftime with Lyon trailing 1-0. It did not get any better and Lyon went on to lose 3-0.

Tim Weah played only the last seven minutes for Marseille who were upset 1-0 away in Austria against Sturm Graz.
Celtic lost to Celta Vigo 2-1 at home. Auston Trusty was not in the squad due to the passing of his father. Cameron Carter-Vickers also missed out as he is still injured.

 

Yanks in the Conference League

 

Ian Hoffmann played 90 minutes for Sweden’s Mjallby in a 1-1 away draw with Iberia 1999.

Erik Palmer-Brown played all 90 minutes for Panathinaikos in a 5-1 blow out win over Kairat.

JJ Willams played the last 15 minutes for Heart of Midlothian in a 2-0 loss to Trabzonspor in Turkey.

Folarin Balogun is not rostered for Monaco, to defeated Freiburg 3-0.

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