IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE, Tim Howard and Brad Guzan both started and were part of losing efforts. Geoff Cameron gave a decent performance in Stoke City's lackluster draw with Norwich City.

One level below in the English Championship, Danny Williams, Jonathan Spector, and Eric Lichaj all started for their respective clubs—and all three games were ties. 

In Germany, it was mostly draws, losses, and average performances. Aron Johannsson earned his first start for Werder Bremen but did not see the ball that much in a 1-1 draw with Hertha Berlin. In the same game, John Brooks only got on the field for the last few minutes. 

Timothy Chandler might be climbing out of the doghouse at Eintracht Frankfurt as he played the second half in a 1-1 draw against Augsburg for his first action of the season. 

Alfredo Morales played a strong first half for Ingolstadt but came back to earth in the second half as his club was overrun by Borussia Dortmund, 4-0. Still, the American midfielder was the least of the Bavarian club's problems. 

In the 2.Bundesliga, forwards Bobby Wood of Union Berlin and Andrew Wooten of Sandhausen might both be part of the U.S. national team in September but they were part of their club's respective scoreless draws. 

In the Eredivisie, Rubio Rubin played the final 14 minutes for Utrecht in a—yep!—1-1 draw vs. ADO Den Haag. Meanwhile, Desevio Payne continues to miss time with an ankle injury he suffered in preseason. 

The best outing in a top European league came from Alejandro Bedoya who came on in the 64th minute for Nantes in a 1-0 win over Reims. He provides some play-by-play commentary below.

Just how we drew it up! Rongier> Bedoya> Bammou> Bedoya> Audel> Lenjani> Goal Nailed it! #Passing101 #TikiTaka #FCN pic.twitter.com/kjRWp7p8K6

— Alejandro Bedoya (@AleBedoya17) August 24, 2015

Yank Abroad of the weekend

The best performance from an American abroad this weekend? We nominate Shawn Barry, the former Virginia Cavalier defender/midfielder who was a standout in college and elected to start his career in Austria with LASK Linz. 

Now with FSV Frankfurt, Barry, 25, earned his first 2.Bundesliga start of the season on Saturday when he lined up in the midfield. He picked up an assist in a 2-0 road win over Greuther Fuerth and looked good throughout the contest. He was one of the best players in the game and likely earned a return visit to the starting lineup with his showing.

Zelalem and the Rangers Revival

Rumored for a while but confirmed over the weekend, U.S. U-20 midfielder Gedion Zelalem will be joining Rangers FC on a season-long loan from Arsenal.

Speaking to media following Rangers' 1-0 win over Hibernian, manager Mark Warburton said that Zelalem, 18, will begin training with the iconic Glasgow club today.

"He was watching the game today in the stand," Warburton said. "He will be training with us tomorrow and will be part of the squad. I am delighted to get hold of him. I would like to welcome him on board. He is another young, very talented player."

Rangers, currently in the second-tier Scottish Championship, are still recovering from a financial scandal that saw the club dropped to the country’s fourth tier. 

Rangers continues to draw well at Ibrox and has started the season with three consecutive wins. The club features a number of young players and several, like Zelalem, are on loan from top English teams. 

The level might be a touch low for Zelalem but he will face constant pressure to perform as Rangers are expected to dominate this season and return to Scotland's Premier League. The loan could also help Zelalem add some much-needed physicality to his game. 

Playing time will not be easy to come by, however, as Rangers are currently winning and coaches usually are reluctant to change a lineup that is working. Still, the 2015 U.S. U-20 World Cup veteran is a gifted player and will likely get a chance to show what he is all about.

News Out of Norway

There is a lot of good going on in Norway these days and while Bob Bradley's stunning revival of Stabaek is well-known to American fans, the fact that Cole Grossman, 26, has played such a big role for Bradley is also a great story. 

On Sunday St. Louis native Cole Grossman scored his fourth goal of the season in Stabaek’s 4-2 road win over Sandefjord. The Bob Bradley-coached club has now won four games in a row and has tightened its grip on second place.

(Grossman’s strong season in Scandinavia—he has started 20 of 21 matches—prompted me to rank him in my most recent ASN 100 but he didn’t get enough attention from other panelists to make the final list.)

Meanwhile, U.S. Olympic hopeful Ethan Horvath continues to start for defending champions Molde. The Colorado native enjoyed a great week: On Wednesday he posted a shutout in a 2-0 home win over Standard Liege is the first leg of a Europa League playoff and yesterday Sunday he kept Valerenga off the score sheet in a 1-0 road victory.

Horvath, 20, is earning first-team minutes at a very young age for a goalkeeper and could push Cody Cropper and Zack Steffen for the top job with the U.S. U-23 team. 

Transfer Deadline Approaching

Tottenham could send DeAndre Yedlin out on loan in an effort to give the U.S. international some professional minutes. The 22-year-old has not seen much playing times since leaving the Seattle Sounders after the 2014 MLS season. 

Rumors continue to swirl around Dallas native Emerson Hyndman, who is in the last year of his contract. If Fulham management does not believe it can sign the U.S. U-20 World Cup captain to a new deal, it may choose to sell him quickly to at least get something for him.

Gyasi Zardes, who has received interest from the Belgian club Genk as well as several English Championship teams, will continue to be a hot topic of conversation until the transfer window closes on September 1. The California native’s stock is very high at the moment, and understandably so. The Los Angeles Galaxy have already splashed the cash for big-name stars like Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard, Giovani Dos Santos, and Omar Gonzalez, but the league’s miserly salary cap could prompt Zardes to go overseas in order to receive greater compensation.

Brian Sciaretta is an American Soccer Now columnist and an ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter.