Goals, goals, goals... Americans overseas just couldn’t stop hitting the back of the onion net over the weekend, with plenty of U.S. national team stars on target for their club sides across the globe.
And the man who stole the show, once again, was Aron Johannsson as the Icelandic-American scored twice and assisted on the third as AZ Alkmaar beat Cambuur 3-1 in the Dutch Eredivisie.
The USMNT forward, who got his first international goal last week against Panama, is in fine form this season with 12 goals in all competitions. His charge towards the U.S. squad for the 2014 World Cup is well underway.
Johannsson’s U.S. strike partner late on against Panama was Terrence Boyd, who came off the bench to score a penalty for Rapid Vienna in a 2-2 draw with Sturm Graz. Whilst another man appearing as a shoe in for Klinsmann’s WC squad is Nantes midfielder Alejandro Bedoya, who came off the bench late on to score his first goal in Ligue 1 to hand the Canaries a 1-0 win at Ajaccio.
Tim Howard and Everton held on for a crucial win against Hull City, with the USMNT ‘keeper having no chance on Yannick Sagbo’s equalizer for the Tigers, Everton are now joint-fifth in the PL. Jozy Altidore came on a late substitute for Sunderland in their 4-0 loss at Swansea, as the Black Cats sit rock bottom of the PL.
Brad Guzan played the full 90 minutes as Aston Villa lost 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur at home, with the Villans now sitting 13th and three points above the drop zone.
Plenty of other USMNT players weren’t in action this weekend, due to long trips on international duty, but in the Championship Tim Ream played a full 90 in Bolton’s 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday, Zak Whitbread played 32 minutes as Derby beat Watford late on and Duane Holmes looked exciting after coming on for Huddersfield in their 2-1 loss to Leicester City.
In Mexico, Paul Arriola, Herculez Gomez, Greg Garza and Edgar Castillo all played in Club Tijuana’s 0-0 draw with Toluca, while Michael Orozco played in Puebla 2-0 win over Atlas.