Christian Pulisic’s struggles at Chelsea continue, but he’s far from the only American to take the field this weekend. It was an up-and-down few days for Americans overseas, as defenders struggled in England.
Still, a few had success as players like Duane Holmes and Josh Sargent contributed to significant results, while Weston McKennie helped Schalke earn a massive road win over the former Bundesliga leaders.
A few Americans are working their way back from injuries, as DeAndre Yedlin made his season debut while Timothy Weah and Matt Miazga remain sidelined. Sergino Dest continues to prove his worth to Ajax, coming off the bench into a scoreless game to help the Dutch giants eventually earn a win.
Christian Pulisic, Chelsea - Pulisic once again was left on the bench as the Blues beat Brighton 2-0, his third game in a row without seeing the field. He told our JPW after the game he was “frustrated” with the lack of playing time. We took a look at his direct competition at Stamford Bridge and what he needs to do to break through.
DeAndre Yedlin, Newcastle - The full-back finally made his return to the field, playing 16 minutes off the bench against Leicester City as the Magpies were obliterated 5-0. The Foxes only scored one of their five goals with Yedlin on the field.
EFL Championship
Antonee Robinson, Wigan - Played the full 90 minutes as Wigan fell 2-0 to Fulham. He has logged a full 90 minutes in every match but one so far this season. Wigan is in trouble, sitting just outside the relegation zone.
Tim Ream, Fulham - The veteran defender helped Fulham to a 2-0 win over Wigan, with goals from Tom Cairney and Joe Bryan. After missing the season opener due to an injury picked up on international duty, Ream has played every minute of Fulham’s campaign, with this win marking the club’s third clean sheet. The Whites have lost just once with Ream on the field, and sit 10th with a four-point deficit off the top.
Matt Miazga, Reading (loan from Chelsea) — Miazga missed his fourth straight game due to a hamstring injury as Reading drew 1-1 with Swansea. It is the only point Reading has picked up in the absence of Miazga, while they had earned seven points in five matches prior.
Eric Lichaj, Hull City — A full 90 minutes at right-back saw Hull City draw with Cardiff City 2-2. The result is a microcosm of Hull’s decidedly mediocre campaign, leaving them in 16th with 10 points through nine matches, having both scored and conceded 13 goals.
Geoff Cameron, QPR — Cameron started as part of a back three and saw his CB mate Yoann Barbet sent off, resigning QPR to a 2-0 defeat at home to West Brom. Cameron himself picked up an early yellow card before the half-hour mark, his third caution in six league appearances this season.
Cameron Carter-Vickers, Stoke City (loan Tottenham Hotspur) — Stoke had a Friday league match and was beaten soundly by Nottingham Forest 3-2, leaving them bottom of the Championship table. This Potters side has conceded 20 goals through nine matches this season, most in the league. It’s a surprising and confounding situation at Stoke, given the decent talent in the squad. Carter-Vickers starts next to Bruno Martins Indi and in front of goalkeeper Jack Butland, so it’s baffling how that defensive unit could be so porous, but here we are. The woes continue for the young Spurs product.
Duane Holmes, Derby County — Holmes returned to winning ways with a 3-2 victory over Birmingham, picking up his first three points since returning to the Derby County lineup in late August. He performed quite well, picking up an assist of Chris Martin’s second-minute opener, a truly hilarious goal that saw Holmes blister past a defender on the flank, deliver a ball to Martin in the middle who collected clumsily - allowing the defense to recover - before producing a classic slow-roller that had the goalkeeper all twisted up, rolling into the back of the net.
Chris Martin has scored in back-to-back games for Derby County for the first time since April 2016. ⏪
— Derby County (@dcfcofficial) September 29, 2019
We just love to see it. 😍 pic.twitter.com/BYgReMQLwN
EFL League One
Lynden Gooch, Sunderland - The 23-year-old started and played a full 90 minutes as Sunderland topped MK Dons 2-1. They scored both goals before the half-hour mark and held on from there, with Gooch making way for a substitute in stoppage time. Sunderland sits fifth in League One, with just one loss on the season.
Bundesliga
Weston McKennie, Schalke — Schalke picked up a big 3-1 road win over RB Leipzig that (of course) allowed Bayern Munich to slide back into the lead. McKennie started and played the full 90 minutes, but it wasn’t as pretty as you’d expect for a midfielder who played a big part of a signature win. He was initially deployed on the wing before being moved centrally.
So I saw Schalke picked up a signature Bundesliga win over EB Lepzig. I did not watch the game. I opened @StatsZone expecting to see #USMNT MF Weston McKennie having a beastly dashboard.
— Kyle Bonn (@the_bonnfire) September 28, 2019
Instead...its still a goddamn mess. pic.twitter.com/geJ0nTlg6t
Zack Steffen and Alfredo Morales, Fortuna Dusseldorf — A Sunday match saw Fortuna Dusseldorf fall at home to Freiburg 2-1 as the visitors mounted a comeback victory. Steffan was in net and recorded just one save, while Morales did not make the squad for the third straight match, out with a hamstring problem.
Josh Sargent, Werder Bremen — The youngster was in the starting lineup for the second straight game, and bagged an assist as Werder Bremen secured a solid 2-2 draw against Borussia Dortmund. He played 88 minutes and was on hand to help out in Marco Freidl’s 56th minute equalizer off a corner, flicking the ball with his head at the near post to Friedl waiting at the opposite end to score the goal that ultimately shared the points.
Josh Sargent flick ➡️ Marco Friedl equalizer for #Werder 👏#BVBSVW (via @FOXSoccer)pic.twitter.com/8Bp2eNSsf5
— Yahoo Soccer (@FCYahoo) September 28, 2019
Tyler Adams, RB Leipzig — Despite returning to training last weekend, Adams has yet to see action with RB Leipzig, again missing out in the loss to Schalke.
Fabian Johnson, Borussia Monchengladbach — Johnson missed his third straight match with back problems as Monchengladbach won 3-0 at Hoffenheim.
Timmy Chandler, Eintracht Frankfurt — Chandler came off the bench again, logging 13 minutes in Frankfurt’s 2-1 win over Union Berlin. Coming in for Erik Durm, Chandler saw Frankfurt cough up the clean sheet while he was on the field as Anthony Ujah got a consolation goal for the hosts in the 83rd minute.
2.Bundesliga
Julian Green, Greuther Furth – Green again played the full 90 minutes as Greuther Furth fell to Holstein Kiel 3-0. After a wonderful start to the second division campaign, Greuther has been held scoreless for two straight matches now. Green played alright, logging 81% pass completion and connecting on six of his eight long balls, but that was about it for the Tampa product.
Eredivisie
Sergino Dest, Ajax — Dest made a rare bench appearance, sat in favor of Noussair Mazraoui. He came on for the Moroccan and played the final 23 minutes of a 2-0 win over FC Groningen, with both Ajax goals coming after Dest had come on the field.
Haji Wright, VVV-Venlo — VVV-Venlo fell to Heerenveen 3-0 for the club’s fifth defeat in eight league matches this season, and Wright was on the field for all 90 minutes, earning his fourth start of the year. The striker has not scored a goal yet this season in 401 minutes of Eredivisie action.
Desevio Payne, FC Emmen — Payne was left out of the squad for the third straight week as Emmen beat ADO Den Haag 3-0.
Ligue 1
Timothy Weah, Lille — Weah’s hamstring tear is going to keep him out for a good bit longer. Don’t expect him back for another few weeks at least.
Theoson Jordan-Siebatcheu, Rennes — It seems Siebatcheu has lost his place in the Stade Rennes lineup, playing nine minutes off the bench in the midweek loss to Nantes before missing out on a spot in the squad altogether on Sunday’s game against Marseille, a 1-1 draw. The 23-year-old striker has yet to score a goal this league season.
Honorable Mentions:
Tyler Boyd, Besiktas - The 24-year-old started but was hauled off at halftime as Beskitas lost to Trabzonspor 4-1, deepening the club’s early season woes. The Turkish side was down 2-0 at the break, and it only got worse as the hosts made it 3-0 past the hour mark before the teams traded late goals. The club has just one win in six matches on the young season, and Boyd has been yanked at halftime in both of his last two starts, while finding himself on the bench in the other two most recent games.
Chris Richards, Bayern Munich II – The 19-year-old played another 90 minutes for Bayern’s reserve squad, winning 4-1 over Preussen Munster.
Andrija Novakovich, Frosinone – 30 minutes off the bench for Novakovich couldn’t save Frosinone as they drew 1-1 with Cosenza. He is in direct competition for a starting striker spot with former Fulham product Marcello Trotta. Neither has scored a league goal yet this season.
Giovanni Reyna, Borussia Dortmund U-19 – Claudio Reyna’s son is in good form, following up his goal last weekend with an assist across 90 minutes in a 3-2 win. He won a 41st minute penalty which eventually put Dortmund U-19 up 2-1.
Luca De La Torre, Fulham Reserves – He was not part of the squad as Fulham’s reserve side fell to Middlesbrough 4-2.