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Evening kickaround

Tillman's big day, Freeman seals move, Dills debuts, Yanks struggling in Germany, & more

ASN's Brian Sciaretta with a big column to talk about a very eventful week in American soccer
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
January 29, 2026
4:50 PM

THE MIDWEEK SAW THE CONCLUSION of the league stage of the Champions League and aside from a tremendous performance from Malik Tillman, it was a lackluster series of performances and results. Elsewhere, Alex Freeman is set to leave Orlando for LaLiga, MLS preseason rolls on, and the transfer window nears its end.

Here are thoughts on it all.

 

Tillman’s big day

 

Malik Tillman had a huge day on Wednesday and he was easily the top American performer in the Champions League. In a game where Bayer Leverkusen needed a result to secure advancing, Tillman was the MOTM in delivering a 3-0 win over LaLiga’s Villarreal.  

Tillman scored the game’s first two goals, both in the first half, and drew four fouls as he was a menace to the LaLiga team. His first goal was a block of a goalkeeper pass and the second was a great strike



But he was dangerous across his 90 minutes where he drew four fouls and had 60 touches.

This was a significant performance because Tillman had been struggling with Bayer Leverkusen – especially in Bundesliga games. This was a shot of momentum that should give him confidence.

For Mauricio Pochettino, this was big because too many players in the pool haven’t been playing well (Balogun, Tillman, Scally, Reyna, Musah, Trusty). This was good to see a top playmaker show signs of climbing out of it.

 

Dills makes Champions League debut

 

U.S. U-20 midfielder Marvin Dills made his Champions League and first team debut with Eintracht Frankfurt in a 2-0 loss to Tottenham. The German-born American grew up in Germany and has shown promise as a player. He has featured for the youth national teams of both the United States and Germany but his most recent involvement came with the U.S. U-19 team in 2025.



Dills, 18, has been around the first team this season but this was a very positive sign for him. Yes, Eintracht was not going to advance in the tournament and this was akin to a friendly. But it was still a sign that he was one of the top young players in the team’s system.

For Dills, it will be interesting to see if he will be allowed to play with the U.S. U-20 team this cycle. For all the focus on the World Cup this summer, the U.S. U-20 team has World Cup qualifying this summer for the 2027 U-20 World Cup.

 

Elsewhere in the Champions League

 

Back on November 26, PSV Eindhoven defeated Liverpool in the Champions League and was in great shape to advance. But the team then fell apart in the tournament and lost their last three to suffer an early elimination. On Wednesday, it was a 2-1 loss at home to Bayern Munich to seal their fate.

Sergino Dest went 90 minutes in the loss and did not stand out. He has struggled in his last two games and was pulled at halftime over the weekend.

Tim Weah and Marseille are out of the Champions League as well after a shocking 3-0 loss to Club Brugge in Belgium. Marseille sits third in Ligue 1 but could not advance in the top European competition despite only needing a draw against Brugge. Weah is having a good season but was unable to generate much offensively.

Yunus Musah earned the start for Atalanta against Union SG but was pulled in the 52nd minute as part of a double substitution with the score 0-0. Union would then go onto find a winner in the 70th minute of a 1-0 victory.

It was a missed chance for Musah who has seen more playing time over the past month but still is not close to being a regular starter. This was a chance to move in that direction and instead he is back to being an unconvincing option – who may or may not start in any game.

Despite the loss, Atalanta advanced.

AS Monaco and Juventus played to a 0-0 draw which was enough for both teams to advance in unseeded positions. Folarin Balogun had a first half goal called back for offside but otherwise did little. Weston McKennie was better across his 90 minutes for Juventus. His best moment came in the 50th minute when he sent a dangerous cross for Lois Openda, who was unable to control the pass.

For both players, it was the status quo. Balogun’s struggles continued while McKennie remains a very useful and productive player for Juventus.

Johnny Cardoso entered the game for Atletico Madrid in the 64th minute with the score 0-0 against Norway’s Bodo/Glimt in Spain. Ultimately, he was on the field for all the goals in a shocking 2-1 loss. As a result, Atletico advanced but failed to secure a seeded position and the Norwegian team from north of the Arctic Circle advanced.

Cardoso passed well but none of that will be remembered in this bad loss.

The only other Americans on the matchday sheet were Diego Kochen and Timmy Chandler. Chandler did not get off the bench for Eintracht Frankfurt in a 2-0 loss to Tottenham in a result which eliminated Eintracht. Kochen was an unused backup goalkeeper for Barcelona in a 4-1 win over Copenhagen.

In the end, no American player who played saw their teams earn a seeded position inside the top eight. Only Kochen was part of a team that is seeded.

Weston McKennie, Malik Tillman, Johnny Cardoso, Yunus Musah, and Folarin Balogun will take part in the next round with unseeded teams.

Sergino Dest, Tim Weah, and Timmy Chandler saw their teams eliminated from the competition.

 

Notes from abroad

 

From a national team perspective, Alex Zendejas returned to training with Club America after being sidelined with a long injury. He is another player who should not be discounted in the hunt for a World Cup roster spot. His chances are very real.

 Gio Reyna missed last weekend’s game for Borussia Monchengladbach against Stuttgart which turned out to be a 3-0. The only description was that it was a “muscular injury.” Today it was announced that Reyna would miss this weekend’s game for M’Gladbach as well.

On another note, there are just a lot of Americans struggling in Germany. Perhaps Tillman will now turn it around but Joe Scally had a terrible game for M’Gladbach against Stuttgart. Kristoffer Lund is not progressing. James Sands is in the relegation zone along with Lennard Maloney (who struggles for minutes). Kevin Paredes still isn’t 100%.  In the second tier, Julian Green and Max Dietz are in last place with Greuther Furth. John Tolkin and Holstein Kiel are not going to bounce back up. Even Santiago Castaneda is not off to a good start in the second half of this season.

Fulham made another bid for Ricardo Pepi. Per Fabrizio Romano, it was a €32m fee. My guess is that this has a good chance of going through. PSV is out of the Champions League and do not need Pepi. Their cushion atop the Eredivisie is strong. For Pepi, it would be a good chance to join a club where he can play.

Another thing to watch is the form of Chris Richards and Antonee Robinson in the Premier League. At Fulham, Robinson played terrific soccer when he returned to the field in December but lately he was not very good last weekend in Fulham’s 2-1 win over Brighton (Fulham were trailing 1-0 when Robinson was subbed out in the 60th minute). He came back from injury and logged a lot of minutes right away. Is he now hitting the wall?

Richards scored a goal for Crystal Palace in a 3-1 loss to Chelsea but it was a late consolation goal. But Palace is sinking like a stone

 

Freeman to Villarreal

 

The transfer of Alex Freeman to Villarreal is now complete. Last year was a banner year for Freeman at Orlando City where he became a starter, made the national team, and earned a transfer to a “Big Five” league. In 2025, he made 34 starts in 42 appearances for Orlando across all competitions, scoring six goals and adding seven assists. He also became a regular with the U.S. national team and concluded 2025 with two goals in a 5-1 win over Uruguay.

It is always risky for a newcomer likely on the verge of making a World Cup team to transfer six months before the tournament. If he doesn’t play right away, perhaps he jeopardizes his spot.

But Pochettino seems to love Freeman and his athleticism is difficult to find. My guess is Freeman is leaving with a good feeling that he will play and that Pochettino feels good about the move.

 

“Alex’s journey is a testament to the strength of our academy, OCB and the pathway we’ve built,” said Ricardo Moreira, Orlando City SC General Manager and Sporting Director. “He showed maturity and commitment at every level, rising from a young prospect to an MLS All-Star and one of the league’s top emerging talents. Watching his development up close has been incredibly rewarding for all of us at the Club. We’re proud of everything Alex has accomplished here and wish him continued success as he takes this next step in his professional career.”

Freeman, 21, has a remarkably bright future given his physical attributes and the potential for him to improve on what he did in 2025.

 

Morris receives praise

 

Aidan Morris has been playing great soccer during Middlesbrough’s current four-game winning streak. That run has moved the club within three points of leaders Coventry, and five points ahead of third-place Ipswich.

This week, Boro manager Kim Hellberg (who only took over in November) was full of praise for the U.S. national team midfielder.

“He's a brilliant player, and I think he's a very funny person. He has an attitude of always wanting to do things to perfection. I like him a lot. He's very unique in his way of playing - he wants the ball all the time, he's brave on it and he's quick in pressing. He’s quick on the ball and off the ball, and especially over short distances where he's so quick to pres.”

“He's a very nice player and a very good person to work with. He will challenge you because he looks at the way he wants to play - he wants to be active, always wants to solve things. I love those types of players because he's like, ‘what should I do here’ or ‘what do you think about this?’ It becomes good talks with him in tactical meetings.

“I love those types of players that want to take responsibility for the team in a tactical way, they want to improve, they want to learn. Never afraid to ask: ‘What did you mean here’. That's a very fun and very good player to work with.”

 

Horvath completes move to Red Bulls

 

Ethan Horvath has been overseas for a long time dating back to his teenage years when his parents moved to Norway so he could join Molde before he turned 18 years old. During his time at Molde, Club Brugge, Nottingham Forest, Luton Town, Cardiff City, and Sheffield Wednesday he has drifted in and out of starting lineups, played well, been benched, been promoted, been relegated, and played in the Champions League.

 

Now he is returning stateside to play for the New York Red Bulls who need a goalkeeper following the departure of Carlos Coronel. Prior to Coronel, the Red Bull’s goalkeeper was Luis Robles who became a club legend after he returned from a rocky career abroad.

Either way, he is coming in as the No. 1 and it will give him a chance to play.

 

McGlynn sharp in preseason

 

Jack McGlynn was in a good place in the fall with Houston but an injury put him in a bad place. His form this preseason will be interesting to follow.

This weekend, he showed off his left foot which is among the best in the USMNT pool.


 

Yanks in the Europa League

 

Auston Trusty put a terrible game last weekend behind him quickly on Thursday with a goal and a drawn penalty (his pass led to a handball) in a 4-2 win over Utrecht. That allowed Celtic to advance to the Europa League knockouts. Trusty was sent off last weekend in a 2-2 draw with Hearts in the Premiership.



Tanner Tessmann played the second half for Lyon in a 4-2 win over PAOK, who were reduced to 10 men in the 41st minute. Lyon finished first in the league stage. Lyon scored three times with Tessmann on the field and the Alabama native was strong in controlling the middle of the field against a shorthanded opponent.

Erik Palmer-Brown and Panathinaikos advanced to the Europa League knockouts with a 1-1 draw against Roma. Palmer-Brown played all 90 minutes and had one of his best performances of the season – where he is returning from a long-term injury last season.

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