Christian Pulisic made his return to action in the Premier League.
One of the main storylines entering this weekend of action from the United States Men’s National Team players abroad was the return of Christian Pulisic. The Chelsea player had not played in a match for the Premier League club in just over a month after suffering a hamstring injury. This also caused Pulisic to miss out on playing with the USMNT during their November friendlies. However, things are beginning to look up again as Pulisic returned to the pitch against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Pulisic entered in the 74th minute to replace Timo Werner and went on to complete 50% of his passes in the scoreless draw with Tottenham. Now that Pulisic has returned to Chelsea’s squad there will be more opportunities for him to make appearances as the Blues juggle their remaining UEFA Champions League matches with their Premier League schedule. He should continue to feature in the week to come.
Goals and assists galore
There were plenty of goals and assists from USMNT players this weekend. Giovanni Reyna helped set up a goal for Borussia Dortmund shortly after entering the match against FC Köln. It was the Dortmund forward’s fourth assist of the Bundesliga season. Unfortunately, Dortmund fell 2-1 to Köln to drop to fourth place in the German top flight.
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Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, John Brooks was on the scoresheet for Wolfsburg as he scored in a wild 5-3 victory against Werder Bremen. The USMNT defender did have an unfortunate own goal as well but his team was able to alleviate that moment with two goals in the second half to record the victory. This was Brooks’ first goal of the Bundesliga season.
In the EFL Championship, Duane Holmes scored for Derby County in their 1-1 draw against Wycombe Wanderers. Another USMNT eligible player was involved in scoring in the English second division as Matthew Olosunde registered an assist for Rotherham United in a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.
Konrad De La Fuente found the back of the net for Barcelona B in a 2-1 victory against Lleida. His goal would prove to be the match-winning goal. This was the USMNT player’s first goal of the season for Barcelona B.
It was a second assist of the season for Andrija Novakovich as he contributed to Frosinone’s 2-1 victory over Brescia. Novakovich has two goals and two assists in nine appearances so far this season in the Italian second division.
Other notable performances
In Germany, Matthew Hoppe started for Schalke in a 4-1 loss to Borussia Mönchengladbach. It was the 19-year-old forward’s first start for the German club. Hoppe registered two shots, two tackles, and completed 71% of his passes. Tyler Adams played the entire match for RB Leipzig as they defeated Arminia Bielefeld 2-1. The American defender finished with three tackles, two interceptions, and three blocks.
There were two starts from players in Spain. Yunus Musah started for Valencia and played 70 minutes of the 1-0 loss to Atletico Madrid. Musah had one shot and completed 90% of his passes. Sergino Dest started for Barcelona in their 4-0 victory over Osasuna. Dest completed 93% of his passes and had one tackle.
Reggie Cannon played all 90 minutes for Boavista in their scoreless draw with Belenenses. He recorded five crosses and one tackle. Fellow USMNT defender Matt Miazga played the entire match for Anderlecht in a scoreless draw with Standard Liege. Lastly, Richard Ledezma started for PSV Eindhoven and played 63 minutes in their 1-0 victory over Sparta Rotterdam. Ledezma registered one shot, one key pass, and completed 82% of his passes.