USMNT abroad: Zack Steffen earns victory in first Premier League start

USMNT (Photo by Andy Rain - Pool/Getty Images)
USMNT (Photo by Andy Rain - Pool/Getty Images)

Zack Steffen earned a victory in his first Premier League start for Manchester City

The marquee matchup of the weekend in the Premier League featured two United States Men’s National Team players. Zack Steffen started in net for Manchester City and Christian Pulisic started for Chelsea. For Steffen, this fixture was a special match for the USMNT goalkeeper as it was his first start in net in the English top flight.

Manchester City were victorious in the match as they defeated Chelsea 3-1. Steffen finished with one save on the two shots he faced. Pulisic recorded one shot, one key pass, and two interceptions. The Chelsea forward also completed 85% of his passes.

Two other USMNT players faced each other this weekend as Giovanni Reyna and Borussia Dortmund played against John Brooks and Wolfsburg. This was one of the biggest matches of the weekend in the Bundesliga as both teams entered this match in the top five in the table. Dortmund ended up taking all three points in a 2-0 victory. Reyna finished with one shot, one key pass, and four tackles. Brooks registered five clearances, one tackle, and one interception.

Goalscorers in multiple leagues

Sebastian Soto was back on the scoresheet for Telstar in the Dutch second division. He scored his seventh goal of the season against NEC Nijmegen. Telstar won the match 5-2 as Soto returned to action for the club he is currently on loan at from Norwich City.

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In Germany, there were two American goalscorers in the 2.Bundesliga match between Greuther Furth and St. Pauli. Julian Green converted a penalty kick and Leon Flach scored for St. Pauli with a fantastic long-range goal. In the end, it was Greuther Furth who would be victorious as it finished 2-1. It was Flach’s first goal of the season and Green’s fourth goal in the German second division.

Other notable performances

Weston McKennie started for Juventus in their 4-1 victory over Udinese. The midfielder played 64 minutes and registered one key pass, one tackle, two interceptions, and two clearances.

Sergino Dest got the start for Barcelona in their 1-0 win over Huesca in La Liga action. Dest recorded two key passes and completed 95% of his passes in his 75 minutes on the pitch for Barcelona. Fellow USMNT right back Reggie Cannon played all 90 minutes for Boavista in their scoreless draw with Maritimo. Cannon finished with one tackle and four clearances.

Tyler Adams played 81 minutes of RB Leipzig’s 1-0 victory over Stuttgart. The right-back finished with one tackle, two interceptions, and one clearance. Elsewhere in Germany, Josh Sargent played all 90 minutes for Werder Bremen in their 2-0 loss to Union Berlin. The striker registered two shots and one key pass in the defeat. Forward Matthew Hoppe started for Schalke and played 80 minutes in their 3-0 loss to Hertha Berlin. Hoppe recorded one shot and two key passes for Schalke.

Aside from Steffen and Pulisic making appearances in the Premier League this weekend, DeAndre Yedlin and Owen Otasowie were also in action for their respective clubs. Yedlin started and played 78 minutes for Newcastle United in their 2-1 defeat to Leicester City. The defender finished with two tackles and two clearances. Otasowie entered late in the match for Wolves in the 86th minute of their 3-3 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion. He registered one shot and one tackle in his brief appearance.