THE START OF THE CONCACAF Champions Cup was a good one for MLS as San Diego FC advanced past Pumas on Tuesday night after a 4-2 aggregate win. Elsewhere in Europe, there were a few other results trickling and Tyler Adams returned to the matchday squad for Bounemouth and Pellegrino Matarazzo's continues to impress coaching Real Sociedad. Then we have a big youth national team update as the U.S. U-17 team qualified for the World Cup this year.

But sure, there was bad news too. Antonee Robinson continues to be benched at Fulham, Gianluca Busio and Venezia suffered a letdown, while Chris Richards and Crystal Palace had a bad loss. 

There is a lot to talk about this week so let’s get right into it

San Diego advances past Pumas

Last week, San Diego FC enjoyed a rapid four goal spurt over 17 minutes to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 win. But that was at home and going to Mexico was always going to be difficult.

On Tuesday night, San Diego FC lost to Pumas 1-0 in Mexico City  but prevailed 4-2 on aggregate. It was a more than acceptable result given the circumstances. The first leg was played with nearly three weeks to go until the opening night in MLS. Meanwhile, Liga MX was almost a month into the season, with Pumas off to a strong start.

Given preseason form of San Diego and Pumas already off to a strong start, it seemed like a tough assignment for San Diego FC. Even a 4-1 edge heading into the second leg wasn’t an easy task.

Pumas ???? San Diego FC

???? Match Highlights pic.twitter.com/2S5toobJPv

— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) February 11, 2026

But San Diego got the job done with some good performances. In the second leg it was Mexican-born goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega who stood out with several big saves. In the first leg, it was the team’s young players who carried the day with goals from Luca Bombino, Alex Mighten, David Vazquez, and Manu Duah.

Bombino was one of the best players over both legs and the left back should be one of the top young Americans in MLS this season. A member of the 2025 U.S. U-20 World Cup team, Bombino is eligible to play for the U.S. Olympic team in 2028.

Mikey Varas was one of the top coaches in MLS last year for guiding San Diego FC to the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Now he is looking to make a run in this continental tournament. Next up, San Diego will face Toluca of Mexico with the first leg taking place on March 11 in California. The return leg on March 18 will be a huge challenge for San Diego in Mexico with the game being played at 8,750 feet above sea level Estadio Nemesio Díez.

Overall, a good start for MLS in the tournament that typically revolves around the MLS vs. Liga MX rivalry.

Tyler Adams returns

Tyler Adams made his return to the matchday squad for Bournemouth on Tuesday in a 2-1 win over Everton. The 2022 U.S. World Cup captain injured his MCL on December 15 and was able to return to the squad within two months, which beat the initial estimates.

Adams did not get off the bench but it was a welcome sign for both Bournemouth and USMNT fans to see him back to the point of being available for selection. This increases the chances that Adams will be with the USMNT for the March international window.

Results in Europe

In Serie B, Venezia dropped a 2-0 loss at home to Modena. Venezia was coming off a huge win over second place Frosinone on Saturday to move four points clear atop the table. Gianluca Busio went 90 minutes in the loss, which was a noticeable letdown on the heels of such a big win.

Jonathan Klinsmann and Cesena fell 8^th place in Serie B after a 3-1 loss to Virtus Entela on Tuesday.

 Leeds United drew Chelsea 2-2 on Tuesday at Stamford Bridge in another productive point that should help them survive the season in the Premier League. Brenden Aaronson started and while he did not factor into either goal, he was a menace for Chelsea both in how he pressed and how he made runs to stretch Chelsea’s defense. Aaronson was later subbed out in stoppage time.

Staying in London, it was a very disappointing  result for Crystal Palace in a 3-2 loss at home to a Burnley team in the relegation zone. Chris Richards played all 90 minutes for Palace, which remained in 13^th place with the defeat.

Palace boss Oliver Glasner was honest about the team’s defense, which included Richards.

“We didn’t defend well,” Glasner told the TNT broadcast team. “It's just not acceptable how we defended as a team – just jogging around, not in the duels, not in the second balls.”

It will be interesting to see how Richards responds.

Antonee Robinson remained on the bench for Fulham in its 3-0 loss to Manchester City. His season and his past year with injuries have been tough understand. When he came back from injury in December, he was rushed back into it – playing 613 minutes in 26 days. After that, his performances started to suffer. Are his minutes being managed now? Is he still struggling with the injuries?

Auston Trusty and Celtic again needed a stoppage time winner, this time to defeat last-place Livingston 2-1 on Wednesday. Celtic sits third and is one point behind second-place Rangers and six points behind leaders Hearts. Celtic has played one fewer game than both teams.

Matarazzo’s remarkable start continues

Real Sociedad defeated Athletic Club 1-0 away from home on Wednesday in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal. American manager Pellegrino Matarazzo is now undefeated in his nine games since taking charge. He has six wins and three draws.

What a remarkable job Matarazzo continues to do for Real Sociedad.
- Hasn’t lost yet, in 9 games
- wins over Barcelona, Athletic Club, Elche, Deportivo Alaves, Celta Vigo, Getafe https://t.co/qGpaHAbsg0

— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) February 12, 2026

Right now, the Real Sociedad fanbase is thrilled with their new manager, and for good reason. A spot in the Copa del Rey is now within reach. Plus, the team has moved away from the relegation zone and is now in 8^th place.

Next up will be a big one as Real Sociedad travels to face Real Madrid.

U.S. U-17 team qualifies for World Cup

The U.S. U-17 team qualified for the 2026 U-17 World Cup thanks to a 1-1 draw with the Dominican Republic on Tuesday. Both teams came into this decisive game with lopsided goal differentials (U.S. team was at +18 while the Dominican Republic was at +15). But the Dominican Republic needed to win while the U.S. would qualify with a draw.

The Philadelphia Union’s Malik Jakupovic scored the lone goal for the U.S. team while Atlanta United goalkeeper James Donaldson made five saves.

Malik Jakupovic flying with his EIGHTH goal of qualifiers ????????

pic.twitter.com/UXsIDpDnmz

— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) February 10, 2026

The U.S. team had to play with 10-men for the last 12 minutes after AC Milan academy product Astin Mbaye picked up his second yellow card

Overall, it was mission accomplished for head coach Alex Aldaz, but the last game was much harder than it should have been.