GOAL looks at the biggest storylines among Americans Abroad, including Pulisic looking to rebound and Sargent's scoring streak
After such a bright start to the season, things have taken a turn for Americans in Europe – and not for the better. Christian Pulisic has dealt with injuries, and is in and out of form while also in Serie A, Tim Weah and Weston McKennie are performing, but Juventus are playing well below their potential – and were summarily beaten in the Champions League.
Ricardo Pepi is done for the season after picking up a knee injury. Malik Tillman, too, is unlikely to return before May. There are two ways of looking at this. The first is to dive into pessimism and snobbery. Checkmate, Americans, the Europeans were right. The second is the more sensible and, frankly, factual.
It has, in reality, been a good season for Americans abroad. The players around them at some of the European clubs simply haven't been up to it. But look a little deeper, further down the tables and out of Serie A, and there remain reasons for excitement.
Josh Sargent has found form since returning from a muscle injury for Norwich. Brenden Aaronson has chugged along for Leeds. He will be crucial if his side are to grab three points against Sheffield in a top of the table clash on Monday.
The Celtic duo of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty performed admirably in Europe. Piece it all together, and there's still a lot to play for here, with plenty of storylines to keep an eye on – especially with an international window less than a month away.
GOAL looks ahead at some of the biggest storylines to follow among Americans Abroad this weekend.
Getty Images SportMilan fall, Christian Pulisic speculation rises
If you believed some reports coming out of Italy this week, Pulisic wants out of AC Milan. Pulisic was underwhelming in both legs of Milan's Champions League knockout phase tie with Feyenoord. He was subbed early in both, and the speculation began. But no sooner had the nothing reports gone out, Pulisic released a statement reaffirming his happiness at San Siro.
And although he has lost some of his early season consistency, the American remains the most important player to this side. An optimist might say, in fact, that the Joao Felix signing this winter made sense – if only to take some of the load off Pulisic, who has picked up a couple of injuries in recent months. Either way, he's still the go-to guy for this team. And in an exclusive interview with GOAL, he confirmed that he's enjoying his run at Milan, even as he's at times had to play the roles of both hero and villain.
AC Milan manager Sergio Conceicao also denounced rumors of a rift with Pulisic, saying Friday that the USMNT star is not ready for 90 minutes due to a muscle issue.
“I keep reading lies and lies in the press," Conceicao said. "I don’t like this. I am in front of you every three or four days. If you have any doubts I'll tell you, I am upfront. Lies hurt, players today are active in social media."
But all-round play notwithstanding, Milan are still struggling. Champions League football simply has to be the goal every year. And with 14 games to play, they are five points back of fourth place. That's not an unassailable gap by any means, but it's hard to back such a maddeningly inconsistent side to go on the kind of run required to close it.
Torino, on Saturday, is the kind of annoying away game Milan has to win to find that form. A midtable side who aren't particularly good in either box, but play the kind of frustrating back five to give Pulisic and Milan nightmares, it will not be an easy game. In theory, this has 0-0 written all over it. In practice, things simply have to be different.
AdvertisementGettyTim Weah, match winner?
On Wednesday Tim Weah absolutely battered the ball into the net from outside the box to drag Juventus back into a Champions League knockout tie with PSV. And it still wasn't enough. In fairness, Juve were battered on the day.
Weah's goal – lovely as it was – came rather against the run of play. PSV, depleted by injury and missing Ricardo Pepi, simply out-attacked them – 25 shots, 10 on target, way more possession, 3-1. In effect, only Weah came out of this whole thing looking good.
And so the same story repeats for the Serie A side. Juve have been better than Milan this year – if only because they have a deeper squad to play with. They, too, expected to be among the title contenders. Instead, they have to settle for turgid football and a borderline Champions League spot. And like their perennial Serie A competitors, it is the Americans that have stood out.
Weah and Weston McKennie have been asked to play a bit of everywhere. And while McKennie has been a standout since day one, Weah has come into his own of late. Injuries and perhaps a lack of trust from new manager Thiago Motta kept him out of the picture early on. But Weah has forced himself in.
Against PSV, he was magnificent at right-back. At times, he has also played as a winger – or even a No. 9. For a Juve side that lacks a bit of magic, Weah is a rare match winner. He might have to provide again in what will certainly be a frustrating evening for Juve at Sardegna Arena against Cagliari. Juve can't zip the ball around. Cagliari don't really want to have it. Could a game, on paper, be more boring? Weah will have to step up.
Getty Images SportJosh Sargent, the answer for the USMNT?
Five games, five goals, and good vibes – such has been the narrative of Josh Sargent in recent weeks. Mauricio Pochettino has a striker problem. And Sargent is doing his best to minimize it. Sargent is a confusing player. He's not really outstanding at anything, but he's sort of good at a lot of little things.
The result is a footballer who is solid but never really spectacular. Need 10-15 goals with an occasional hot streak thrown in to get your hopes up a little bit? Look no further. And Sargent is on one of those little runs at the moment.
Frankly, it could not have come at a better time for the USMNT. Ricardo Pepi is done for the season. Folarin Balogun hasn't been seen in months after recovering from shoulder surgery. Daryl Dike is back, but probably too far off. Everyone else is a level below what's required. An in-form Sargent is exactly what the Argentine needs with the CONCACAF Nations League finals less than a month away.
The stats make for good reading – 19 games, nine goals, five assists. But it hasn't had a massive impact on his team. Norwich are a tepid 12th. They are only four points back of a playoff spot, but such is the quality between the Championshp and Premier League that they might not even to close it.
Either way, though, it can't hurt Sargent himself if he continues to bang them in – 19th-placed Stoke might be a fine feasting ground this weekend.
AFPCeltic boys and glorious defeat
A word, briefly, for Celtic. The Scottish side were immense against Bayern Munich in the Champions League midweek. Brendan Rodgers coaxed a nerarly-perfect performance out of his side. Outmatched financially and in terms of quality, the SPL leaders did everything right. At the end of the day, it was an unfortunate bounce – Cameron Carter-Vickers slide-tackling the ball into Alphonso Davies, who deflected it into the net – that saw them eliminated from the Champions League.
The American duo of Auston Trusty and Carter-Vickers were immense on the night. They limited a humming Bayern attack, shut down Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala. There was nothing more they could have done. It is, at least, something to build on as they attack the rest of the season. Hibs should be fairly easy work Saturday morning. The title might be a stroll from there.