Sebastian_berhalter_-_asn_top_-_middlesbrough_goal_celebration_-_2026-9-12
European notebook

Euro notebook: Pulisic assists, Berhalter & McGlynn score, Busio injured, plus more

ASN's Brian Sciaretta opens up another new page in his European notebook with lots of good and bad to break down
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
September 14, 2026
6:05 PM

IT HAS BEEN a busy weekend plus Monday in Europe for Americans in Europe as Christian Pulisic made an impressive return to the field for Milan while Sebastian Berhalter and Jack McGlynn helped their clubs secure results in the Championship.

Here are the top stories before we span the continent.

 

Pulisic Assists in Return

 

Christian Pulisic made his return from injury on Sunday when he played the second half for AC Milan as it rallied from a 2-0 deficit against Lazio to force a 2-2 draw. For Pulisic, it was his first minutes since the U.S. team’s World Cup exit against Belgium.

Pulisic played very well and assisted Diego Moreira on Milan’s first goal in the 66th minute with a well-placed lob into the box.



Pulisic also created numerous chances and completed 21/21 of his passes. It was one of his best performances of the year. But how will this shape his role with the U.S. national team?

Either way, it looks like Yunus Musah will be back with the U.S. team. He also came into the game against Lazio at halftime and helped in the comeback, even if he did not contribute to a goal.

Musah has raised his game after returning to Milan far more than anyone expected. Most importantly, he has cut back significantly on his mistakes all while playing to his strengths in dribbling and driving the ball forward.

 

Berhalter scores twice in Boro win

 

Middlesbrough defeated Norwich 4-3 in a wild back-and-forth game where Boro found a stoppage time winer.

There are now four Americans at Boro but only Adian Morris and Sebastian Berhalter started for Boro while Max Arfsten came into the game in the 73rd minute. Rokas Pukstas did not get off the bench.

For Berhalter, it was his best game since arriving in England as he scored the team’s first two goals en route to the victory and was named the Man of The Match.  



Berhalter continues to build off what has been an exceptional two years where he has gone from a role player in MLS, to a Best XI in the league, to playing in two finals, plus making the World Cup team, and now looking like a high-level Championship player for a team that sits fourth and should contend for promotion.  

Morris also put in a strong shift while Arfsten contributed off the bench. We will see how long it takes Pukstas to get integrated into his new team.

 

McGlynn’s right foot wonders

 

Stoke City defeated Watford 2-1 on Saturday to continue its climb up the Championship table after losing its first three games.

Jack McGlynn, 23, scored Stoke City’s first goal in first half stoppage time with a terrific shot that surprisingly came from his right foot. The former Philadelphia Union and Houston Dynamo attacking midfielder/winger has an elite left foot but his right foot has always been in question.

This shot, however, was a thing of beauty.  



Meanwhile, Luca Bombino came into the game in the 80th minute and was very busy. He won 5/6 duels to help keep possession and preserve the draw.  

Stoke City now has three wins and a draw in its last four games and both Americans are performing well to the point where they should both be regular starters as the season progresses.

As for the national team, McGlynn might return to the team sooner than later. He was on a good path under Mauricio Pochettino in 2025 but suffered an injury at a bad time. He still brings a left foot that can help break a game open.

Meanwhile, Bombino is a player who will likely shift down to the Olympic team soon but Mauricio Pochettino might call him up for September/October to evaluate his future left back options after Antonee Robinson.

 

Busio injured in Venezia loss

 

Venezia’s start to the Serie A season went from bad to worse. On Saturday, Venezia lost to a struggling Fiorentina team (that was in last place entering the game) 4-2 at home. Venezia has now lost its first four games this season in what was supposed to be an favorable schedule so far.

Now Venezia could be without its best player, American captain Gianluca Busio, who left the game with what looked like a hamstring injury just before halftime. After the game, Venezia head coach Giovanni Stroppa said it could be a serious injury that would sideline him for awhile.

Despite Venezia’s struggles, Busio had been playing well and he assisted on the game’s opening goal in the 22nd minute. This would be a huge loss for Venezia in its survival hopes.

Meanwhile, Busio might have been pushing to make a return to the U.S. national team in the fall for the first time since 2024 at the start of the Pochettino era. That now seems unlikely.

 

Tillman effective off the bench

 

Bayer Leverkusen needed an 89th minute goal from Patrik Schick to secure a 2-2 draw with Augsburg. U.S. national team midfielder Malik Tillman assisted on the goal although it looked as if it could have been a shot (which was sailing wide) that Schick deflected into the goal.



Tillman played 15 minutes in this game and his performances have been mixed to begin the season. It will be interesting to seen when or if he reclaims the starting job with Bayer, who next play Slovenia’s NK Celje in the Europa League on Wednesday.

 

Scally & Mochengladbach’s brutal start

 

Joe Scally started and played 90 minutes for Borussia Monchengladbach in a terrible 5-0 loss to Freiburg on Saturday. The loss left Monchengladbach without a point from three games and a -9 goal differential. It is ahead of only Hamburg which has a goal differential of -12.  Following the game, head coach Eugen Polanski was fired.

The best that can be said for Scally is that he is not close to the biggest problem for Monchengladbach. The defenders in the middle are not playing well and the midfield gives up too many balls in possession.

Scally is in the final year of his contract and needs to find a way to get out in advance before the season significantly hurts his value.

 

Reynolds faces Weah in Ligue 1

 

Rennes continued its strong start to the Ligue 1 season with a 1-0 win over Marseille. With the result, Rennes is now even with Lille and Monaco with 10 points from four games to lead the table.

Bryan Reynolds made his first meaningful appearances for Rennes when he replaced Przemys?aw Frankowski at right back in the 68th minute (his only other appearances was a cameo in the season opener). It was a solid performance from Reynolds who was asked to help Rennes defend its way to a quality win. Reynolds was not part of anything highlight worthy, but he did his job. It does not seem as if regular starts are coming for Reynolds anytime soon, but he is trending in the right direction and might soon get there.

Tim Weah, meanwhile, was one of Marseille’s best players in the loss.  He was solid on both sides of the ball. In terms of his confidence, he appears to now be in a better place than he was at the World Cup although Marseille is slow out of the gate with just three points from four games.

 

Williams off to a nice start with Hearts

 

After transferring from Rhode Island in the USL to Hearts in the Scottish Premiership, JJ Wiliams is performing well for his new club. On Saturday, Williams scored and assisted twice in a 3-0 win over second-tier Stenhousemuir in the League Cup quarterfinal.

A solid performance in a Leagues Cup game against a second-tier team is not significant platform, but it could be setting the stage for more minutes in the future.  If Williams can help Hearts this season, it will be significant in how it could increase the market for prime-aged players in the USL.

 

Yanks in the Premier League

 

Chris Richards played all 90 minutes for Crystal Palace and Zavier Gozo played the final six minuets plus stoppage time, but the Yanks could not prevent the club from dropping a 3-2 decision at home to Ipswich Town. Palace was setback when Axel Disasi picked up a red card in the 34th minute.

Richards was tasked to then sit deep, defend, and then try to spring counterattacks from deep positions. He defended well but did not help the team’s offense. Gozo, meanwhile, did not have enough time to make much of an impact.

Antonee Robinson played 90 minutes for Fulham in a 0-0 draw away against Liverpool. Normally this would have been a solid result for the Cottagers, but it was only the team’s first point of the season. Robinson was true to form as he covered a lot of ground and used his speed both on offense and in defense to be involved. Far too often, however, his crossing and final balls let him down.

Tyler Adams played 82 minutes for Bournemouth in a 2-2 draw with Brentford. Adams was conservative with his passing and did not stand out much – for good or bad.

Brenden Aaronson played the final 18 minutes for Leeds United in a 4-1 win over Newcastle United on Monday. He came into the game only after Leeds had scored all four of its goals and he only had nine touches.

Haji Wright continues to miss time as Coventry’s pointless start to its season continued with a 5-0 loss at home to Brighton & Hove.

 

Yanks in LaLiga

 

Alex Freeman played the last 18 minutes for Villarreal in a 2-1 home loss to Real Betis, with all the goals coming in the first half. Freeman completed 17/18 of his passes, although most were safely in the midfield. Otherwise, there was not much to make of his performance.

Johnny Cardoso played the final 31 minutes for Atletico Madrid in a 3-0 away win over Pellegrino Matarazzo's Real Sociedad team. All three of Atletico's goals came after the 84th minute when Cardoso was on the field. The New Jersey-born midfielder was not part of any of the goals, but it did reflect well on him that the team performed well with him on the field. That can only boost his case to move into the starting lineup.

 

Yanks in the Bundesliga

 

Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, there were other Americans to discuss.

Cole Campbell started and was pulled at halftime for Elversberg in a 2-1 loss at home to champions Bayern Munich. Campbell wasn’t playing poorly and even had a delightful goal called back for offside. There are a few reasons why he was pulled after just 45 minutes. He didn’t add much in possession or defense, and that was needed for Elversberg to remain competitive. But Campbell is still performing above expectations.

Santiago Castaneda, 21, did not stand out much for Paderborn in its 3-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund. The Tampa native went 90 minutes in defensive midfield. Paderborn is still without a win on the Bundesliga season and a relegation battle looks likely. On another note, Mathis Albert did not get off the bench for Dortmund.

 

Yanks in Ligue 1

 

Mark McKenzie played 90 minuets in central defense for Toulouse in a 2-2 draw with Lorient and the U.S. national team defender played well with his passing to help Toulouse recover from a 2-0 deficit. Toulouse still is without a win and has just two points from four games.

Gio Reyna played 81 minutes for Strasbourg in an impressive 1-1 draw with Monaco (who were without Folarin Balogun). Reyna had a few nice moments but did make an impact in this game for Strasbourg.  

Tanner Tessmann only played the final three minutes for Lyon in a 0-0 away draw with Paris FC.

 

Yanks in the Eredivisie


PSV easily defeated Sparta Rotterdam on Saturday. Sergino Dest again had a strong performance at right back in the win and he has been very strong to start the season. Ricardo Pepi came into the game in the 60th minute but was overshadowed by the starting striker, Sven Mijnans, who had a hat trick and might have made it difficult for Pepi to start in important games in the near future.

 

Yanks in the Championship

 

West Bromwich captain George Campbell only made a late cameo in a 1-1 draw with Queens Park Rangers. Campbell likely did not start for squad rotation.

Forward Charlie Kelman played the final 14 minutes for Charlton Athletic in a 0-0 draw with Portsmouth. It was his season debut after dealing with an injury and Kelman was mostly uninvolved in this shift.

Kristoffer Lund was a time-wasting substitute in injury time for Birmingham City to preserve a 2-1 away with over Derby County.

 

Yanks in the 2.Bundesliga

 

It’s been a terrible start to the season for John Tolkin who only played the final 15 minutes for Holstein Kiel in a 1-0 loss to Heidenheim. Now winless, Holstein Kiel sits last in Germany’s second tier.

Jonathan Gomez scored VfL Osnabruck’s only goal in a 3-1 loss to Hertha BSC and by all accounts was his team’s best player. The newly promoted Osnabruck team sits 10th in the league.

Jordan Pefok started but was quiet for Greuther Furth in his 63 minute shift in a 1-1 draw with Bochum.

 

Yanks in LaLiga 2

 

Nicholas Gioacchini played all 90 minutes for midtable Sabadell in a 2-0 loss to Mallorca. Unlike last week when he had a brace, Gioacchini was quiet in this game.

Konrad de la Fuente played the final 21 minutes for Sporting Gijon in a 1-0 loss at home to Eldense.

 

Yanks elsewhere

 

In the Danish Superliga, Diego Kochen made one save for Lyngby in a 1-1 draw with Sonderjyske.

In the Belgian Pro League, Marlon Fossey played 88 minutes for Standard Liege in a 4-2 loss to Westerlo. Standard has 11 points from six games to begin the season.

In the Austrian Bundesliga, George Bello went 90 minutes at left back for LASK in a 2-1 loss to Sturm Graz. It was LASK’s first loss of the season but the Linz-based club still sits in first. Meanwhile, the club hopes its top forward, American Sam Adeniran, will return soon from surgery to repair a facial bone.

Drew Murray, 20, played 90 minutes for WSG Tirol in a late comeback effort to secure a 2-2 draw with Hartberg. WSG Tirol now has eight points from six games to sit in fifth. If Murray continues to succeed, he might get invited to an Olympic camp next year.

 

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