The Yanks went unbeaten in the Premier League, while there was an assist in the Bundesliga, an own goal in the Championship and plenty of bench time for Americans in Europe this weekend.
Brad Guzan is going to be extra popular this week in Birmingham after he kept a clean sheet in Aston Villa’s 1-0 upset of Chelsea at Villa Park. Guzan was saved from a not-so-good goal that hit him twice on the way in when it was adjudged that Nemanja Matic handled the ball before shooting.
Geoff Cameron made it 22-straight Premier League matches playing all 90 minutes for Stoke City as the Potters made it three in a row with points in a 3-1 win over West Ham. Stoke’s 34 points give them a lot of room for exhalation with a 9-point cushion above No. 18 Sunderland.
There were only two saves required of Tim Howard as Everton held the play against Cardiff City en route to a 2-1 win. With Spurs stumbling, the Toffees are in the driver’s seat for fifth place in the PL. Everton is two points back of No. 5 Tottenham, but have played two less matches.
Jozy Altidore subbed on at half for Sunderland, as an effective Steven Fletcher was forced to leave with an injury. The Black Cats controlled the ball in the second half and Altidore was a part of that, but he -- and they -- couldn’t finish one off as Sunderland stayed in the drop zone with a 0-0 draw (though admittedly their path out is rather favorable for a relegation-scrapping squad).
There was plenty of American excitement down a division in the Championship, where all matches were played on Saturday. All three Yanks featuring in Sheffield Wednesday’s 4-1 win over Birmingham Cityplayed 90 minutes, with Oguchi Onyewu coming out on the winning end. Jonathan Spector played the entire match for Birmingham, while Will Packwood had an own goal for the visitors.
Yeovil Town fell to QPR 3-0 and Duane Holmes was pulled off after 29 minutes due to injury and a “lack of impact.” Tim Ream watched as Bolton fell 2-0 to Brighton despite his full game’s work, while Danny Williams was left off the team sheet entirely for Reading’s 0-0 draw with Derby County. Reading remains a point out of the playoffs, while Yeovil Town is three points away from safety and Bolton is a comfortable 11 points ahead of the drop.
Nearly a half-dozen Americans played in the Liga MX match between Cruz Azul and Tijuana, won by the home team 2-1. Herculez Gomez subbed off, while Paul Arriola picked up a yellow card and an assist in the loss. Edgar Castillo played the entire loss, while Alejandro Guido started fed Arriola before the assist. MLSSoccer.com points out that 17-year-old Fernando Arce Jr. was born in the States, and he made his debut for Tijuana.
Jose Torres’ Tigres club beat the Puebla side of DaMarcus Beasley and Michael Orozco by a 1-0 score.
Juan Agudelo has now gone five matches without a shot on goal after his hot start at FC Utrecht, though by some accounts he was steady in playing the duration of a 2-2 draw with lower-table NEC. Also in the Netherlands, Aron Johannsson subbed off after 60 minutes in AZ Alkmaar’s 2-1 loss at FC Twente. Johannsson had played 90 minutes just three days prior with a goal in the Europa League win over Anzhi.
Anderlecht unloaded a 4-0 decision on KV Oostende, as Sacha Kljestan played the whole match for the winners, while former DC United player Andy Najar (Honduras) scored. Terrence Boyd went 90 in SK Rapid Wien’s 1-0 win over SV Josko Ried. Vienna is now a point back of second place but 18 back of first place FC Red Bull Salzburg.
Ale Bedoya found himself on the bench for all of Nantes’ impressive 0-0 away draw to Lille, while Jermaine Jones didn’t play for Besiktas in its disappointing 2-2 draw against Caykur Rizespor.
Fabian Johnson picked up an assist for Hoffenheim in a 4-2 loss to Mainz, though his assist put them in front 2-1. John Anthony Brooks didn’t play as Hertha Berlin were embarrassed 3-0 at home by Hannover 96.