Americans Abroad
Welcome back Aron, CCV stands tall, Keaton gets revenge, & More
Aron Johannsson makes a statement, Miazga lifts Vitesse, Ream and Fulham seem unbeatable, and Pulisic hits an important assist in an impressive weekend for Americans in Europe.
Finally, 2018 yielded a good weekend for Americans abroad as unsuspecting players such as Aron Johannsson and Antonee Robinson stepped up to help give their club’s important wins.
Here are the top stories.
Over the weekend, the Icelandic-American lifted Werder Bremen to a huge 2-1 win over Schalke when he came off the bench in the 58th minute and hit a pass that set up a stoppage time winner. Aside from the pass, his entire performance was positive and he made a case for more minutes down the stretch.
With the win, Werder moved into 15th place and out of the relegation zone.
Miazga scores to lift Vitesse
On Friday, Matt Miazga scored the opening for Vitesse in a 2-0 win over FC Groningen. With that victory, Vitesse now has 10 points from its last four games.
The New Jersey native continues another consistently strong season and should be ready for another loan next season to a more high profile league.
Pulisic, 19, hasn’t been playing particularly well in 2018 under new coach Peter Stoger but this assist was important as it helped lift Dortmund into fourth place of the Bundesliga.
The 2017/18 season has seen Antonee Robinson breakout as a first team footballer. The English-American is signed to Everton but has blossomed on loan to Bolton where he has helped the club move out of the relegation zone.
On Friday, the left back Robinson assisted on the game’s only goal in a 1-0 win over Bristol. The three points moved Bolton three points clear of the relegation zone and into 20th place.
An assist might be generous on the play as Sammy Ameobi made 70 yard run with the ball to score after receiving the pass but watch Robinson’s supporting run after he makes the clearing pass to Ameobi. Robinson showed great hustle on the play to give Ameobi numbers on the attack.
In the game, the English-American won seven aerial battles, notched six clearances and five interceptions. The performance was good enough to be named to Whoscored's Championship team of the week.
On Saturday it defeated Nottingham Forest 2-0 and with the win, the London club has now won five league games in a row and has earned 22 points out of a possible 24 in its last eight games.
Ream, 30, continues to be very steady and in the win he completed 90% of his passes and had a game-leading nine clearance.
Meanwhile, Fulham has moved into fifth place of the Championship.
It wasn’t a top performance but DeAndre Yedlin was still better than decent on Sunday in a 1-1 away draw against Crystal Palace.
The Seattle native did his part to shut down his side of the field with three interceptions and three clearances in a 90 minute outing.
On Saturday, Alfredo Morales scored for the second straight game as Ingolstadt cruised pass Julian Green and Greuther Furth 3-0. It was the fourth goal of the season for Morales as Ingolstadt moved into fifth place in the 2.Bundesliga.
Keaton Parks, 20, is playing for Benfica II right now and is on the cusp of rejoining the first team. But playing with the second team had its benefits on Sunday when Parks got to take on his old club Varzim. Parks left Varzim last year after an ugly falling out with the club.
In the game, the Texan scored Benfica’s first goal of a 3-1 win which send Varzim into 15th place of Portugal’s second tier.
The Bad
While the weekend was overall positive, a bunch of Americans came up with lackluster performances. In recent weeks, Timothy Chandler and Kenny Saief have been among the best American players in Europe but both were lackluster over the weekend.
Timothy Chandler and Eintracht Frankfurt lost 3-0 Augsburg. Meanwhile in Belgium, Saief and Anderlecht drew last-place Mechelen 2-2.
Bobby Wood’s season for Hamburg has been terrible and the Hawaiian was held without a goal in a 1-1 draw with Hannover at home. HSV still sit in the relegation zone and desperately need wins. It would be a huge help if Wood could find the back of the net.
Meanwhile in England, Geoff Cameron and Stoke lost to AFC Bournemouth 2-1 and now sit in the relegation zone in 18th place. Just behind them on goal differential is David Wagner’s Huddersfield side which is falling apart. It’s 2-0 loss to Manchester United was its fifth in a row and Danny Williams missed his second straight with a hip injury.
Still, too many young American players are MIA at the moment. McKenzie Gaines, Haji Wright, Emerson Hyndman, and Ethan Horvath are nowhere to be found.
Here are the top stories.
Johannsson crucial pass lifts Werder
Aron Johannsson, 27, has found minutes very hard to come by this season. On the heels of two seasons where he has been limited by injury, many American fans have forgotten about Johannsson.Over the weekend, the Icelandic-American lifted Werder Bremen to a huge 2-1 win over Schalke when he came off the bench in the 58th minute and hit a pass that set up a stoppage time winner. Aside from the pass, his entire performance was positive and he made a case for more minutes down the stretch.
With the win, Werder moved into 15th place and out of the relegation zone.
Miazga scores to lift Vitesse
On Friday, Matt Miazga scored the opening for Vitesse in a 2-0 win over FC Groningen. With that victory, Vitesse now has 10 points from its last four games. The New Jersey native continues another consistently strong season and should be ready for another loan next season to a more high profile league.
Pulisic picks up an assist
After three straight draws, Christian Pulisic helped Dortmund to an important 3-2 win when he assisted to Michy Batshuayi in a 3-2 win over a terrible Cologne team. His assist gave Dortmund a 2-1 lead.Pulisic, 19, hasn’t been playing particularly well in 2018 under new coach Peter Stoger but this assist was important as it helped lift Dortmund into fourth place of the Bundesliga.
Pulassist (sorry, copied the wrong video in an earlier tweet) pic.twitter.com/RxeEV3BrEl
— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) February 2, 2018
Robinson assist helps Bolton
The 2017/18 season has seen Antonee Robinson breakout as a first team footballer. The English-American is signed to Everton but has blossomed on loan to Bolton where he has helped the club move out of the relegation zone.
On Friday, the left back Robinson assisted on the game’s only goal in a 1-0 win over Bristol. The three points moved Bolton three points clear of the relegation zone and into 20th place.
An assist might be generous on the play as Sammy Ameobi made 70 yard run with the ball to score after receiving the pass but watch Robinson’s supporting run after he makes the clearing pass to Ameobi. Robinson showed great hustle on the play to give Ameobi numbers on the attack.
Carter-Vickers named to team of the week
Cameron Carter-Vickers, 20, has adapted well into his loan at Ipswich Town less than two weeks after his parent club, Tottenham, recalled him from a loan to Sheffield United. After a tough 1-0 loss to runaway leaders Wolverhampton, Carter-Vickers earned his first three points with Ipswich on Saturday when he put on a strong performance in a 2-0 win over Sunderland.In the game, the English-American won seven aerial battles, notched six clearances and five interceptions. The performance was good enough to be named to Whoscored's Championship team of the week.
Championship Team of the Week ????????????????
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) February 4, 2018
Full league statistics: https://t.co/7094SxKrhN pic.twitter.com/UC1FsieWCo
Ream and Fulham surging
How good is Fulham right now? Very
On Saturday it defeated Nottingham Forest 2-0 and with the win, the London club has now won five league games in a row and has earned 22 points out of a possible 24 in its last eight games.
Ream, 30, continues to be very steady and in the win he completed 90% of his passes and had a game-leading nine clearance.
Meanwhile, Fulham has moved into fifth place of the Championship.
Yedlin performs well in Newcastle draw
It wasn’t a top performance but DeAndre Yedlin was still better than decent on Sunday in a 1-1 away draw against Crystal Palace.
The Seattle native did his part to shut down his side of the field with three interceptions and three clearances in a 90 minute outing.
Morales scores for Ingolstadt
On Saturday, Alfredo Morales scored for the second straight game as Ingolstadt cruised pass Julian Green and Greuther Furth 3-0. It was the fourth goal of the season for Morales as Ingolstadt moved into fifth place in the 2.Bundesliga. Parks gets revenge
Keaton Parks, 20, is playing for Benfica II right now and is on the cusp of rejoining the first team. But playing with the second team had its benefits on Sunday when Parks got to take on his old club Varzim. Parks left Varzim last year after an ugly falling out with the club.
In the game, the Texan scored Benfica’s first goal of a 3-1 win which send Varzim into 15th place of Portugal’s second tier.
The Bad
While the weekend was overall positive, a bunch of Americans came up with lackluster performances. In recent weeks, Timothy Chandler and Kenny Saief have been among the best American players in Europe but both were lackluster over the weekend. Timothy Chandler and Eintracht Frankfurt lost 3-0 Augsburg. Meanwhile in Belgium, Saief and Anderlecht drew last-place Mechelen 2-2.
Bobby Wood’s season for Hamburg has been terrible and the Hawaiian was held without a goal in a 1-1 draw with Hannover at home. HSV still sit in the relegation zone and desperately need wins. It would be a huge help if Wood could find the back of the net.
Meanwhile in England, Geoff Cameron and Stoke lost to AFC Bournemouth 2-1 and now sit in the relegation zone in 18th place. Just behind them on goal differential is David Wagner’s Huddersfield side which is falling apart. It’s 2-0 loss to Manchester United was its fifth in a row and Danny Williams missed his second straight with a hip injury.
Still, too many young American players are MIA at the moment. McKenzie Gaines, Haji Wright, Emerson Hyndman, and Ethan Horvath are nowhere to be found.
