USMNT weekend roundup: Pulisic big day, Zendejas brace, Luna golazo

Here’s a bullet-point rundown of the USMNT players whose clubs were in action this weekend (Friday through Sunday). Players are divided by position groups (that helps my depth-chart-oriented brain to process this information most usefully). Within position groups, players are listed chronologically, in order of when their games took place. Stats are from FotMob.

Strikers

Injured: Folarin Balogun (ankle, a few weeks), Ricardo Pepi (knee, out for season), Jordan Morris (hamstring, early June)

• Damion Downs was an unused sub in Köln’s 2-1 win over Nürnberg on Friday.
• Charlie Kelman played the full 90 and scored a brace (his 26th and 27th of the season), and created 1 chance in Leyton Orient’s 2-2 draw with Stockport County in the League One promotion playoff semifinal first leg. Here’s video of his second goal, which came from the spot.
• Jordan Pefok played 75 minutes and created 2 chances in Reims’ 0-2 loss to Saint-Étienne on Saturday.
• Brandon Vázquez played 73 minutes, scored a penalty (video here) and lost the most duels (9) in Austin FC’s 1-2 loss to FC Cincinnati on Saturday.
• Duncan McGuire played 16 minutes off the bench and created 1 chance in Orlando City’s 3-3 draw with the New England Revolution on Saturday.
• Patrick Agyemang played 66 minutes, created 1 chance, and missed 1 big chance in Charlotte FC’s 1-2 loss to Nashville SC on Saturday.
• Brian White played the full 90, scored a brace, and created 1 chance in the Vancouver Whitecaps’ 2-2 draw with LAFC on Sunday. White was rated Man of the Match by FotMob.

White’s second:

Wingers and attacking mids

Injured: Kevin Paredes (muscle injury, late May), Taylor Booth (unknown), Jesús Ferreira (groin, back on the field), Cole Campbell (knock, a few days)

• Christian Pulisic played the full 90, scored, and provided an assist in AC Milan’s 3-1 win over Bologna on Friday. It was a special moment for Pulisic, who wore a special kit with “Harlow”, his mother’s maiden name, for Mother’s Day, and celebrated by pointing to her name (video here). Pulisic has now reached double-digit goals and assists in back-to-back seasons with Milan. He’s now at 27 goal contributions this season, improving on his 26 last season. His scoring rate with Milan is nearly double his rate for Dortmund or Chelsea. Pulisic is now the only USMNT player in the last 20 years with multiple 20-goal-contribution seasons in top 5 European leagues.

Pulisic’s assist:

Pulisic’s goal:

• Griffin Yow played the full 90 and created 1 chance in Westerlo’s 3-4 loss to Charleroi on Friday.
• Haji Wright played the full 90 and lost the most duels (9) in Coventry’s 1-2 loss to Sunderland on Friday in the playoff semifinal first leg.
• Tim Weah played the full 90, created 1 chance, and got a hockey assist on the goal (the McKennie assist below) as Juventus drew 1-1 with Lazio on Saturday.
• Brian Gutiérrez played 89 minutes, created 2 chances, and won the most duels (8) in the Chicago Fire’s 2-1 win over Atlanta United on Saturday.
• Lucho Acosta (who is not currently USMNT-eligible) played the full 90 and created 1 chance in FC Dallas’ 1-1 draw with RSL on Saturday.
• Diego Luna played 84 minutes, scored, and created 1 chance in Real Salt Lake’s 1-1 draw with FC Dallas on Saturday. Luna was rated Man of the Match by FotMob.

• Jesús Ferreira played 24 minutes off the bench and created 2 chances in the Seattle Sounders’ 3-1 win over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday.
• Djordje Mihailovic played the full 90 and created 2 chances in the Colorado Rapids’ 0-2 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
• Alex Zendejas played 88 minutes and scored both of Club América’s goals in their 2-0 win over Pachuca in the Liga MX quarterfinal second leg on Saturday. Zendejas’ two goals were the only ones scored by any player across the two legs, so América has knocked out Pachuca and is moving on to the semifinals.

Zendejas’ second:

• Malik Tillman played the full 90, created 1 chance, and won the most duels (10) in PSV’s 3-2 win over Feyenoord on Saturday.
• Gio Reyna was an unused sub in Borussia Dortmund’s 4-2 win over Leverkusen on Sunday.
• Matko Miljevic played 88 minutes, created 3 chances, and drew the most fouls (7) in Huracán’s 3-2 win over Deportivo Riestra on Sunday.

Center mids

Injured: James Sands (broken leg, mid-July), Pedro Soma (back on the field)

• Yunus Musah played 12 minutes off the bench in AC Milan’s 3-1 win over Bologna on Friday.
• Lennard Maloney played 1 minute off the bench in Mainz’s 4-1 win over Bochum on Saturday.
• Pedro Soma played 17 minutes off the bench in Barça Atlètic’s 1-3 loss to FC Andorra on Saturday.
• Weston McKennie played the full 90 and assisted the only Juventus goal in their 1-1 draw with Lazio on Saturday.

• Tyler Adams played 76 minutes and created 1 chance in Bournemouth’s 0-1 loss to Aston Villa on Saturday.
• Tanner Tessmann played the full 90 in Lyon’s 0-2 loss to Monaco on Saturday.
• Benja Cremaschi played the full 90 and created 1 chance in Inter Miami’s 1-4 loss to Minnesota United on Saturday.
• Owen Wolff played the full 90 and created 3 chances in Austin FC’s 1-2 loss to FC Cincinnati on Saturday.
• Quinn Sullivan played 79 minutes, provided an assist, and created another chance in the Philadelphia Union’s 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew on Saturday.

• Jack McGlynn played the full 90, provided an assist, and created 4 more chances (5 total) in the Houston Dynamo’s 1-3 loss to the Seattle Sounders on Saturday.

• Luca de la Torre played the full 90 in San Diego FC’s 2-1 win over St. Louis City on Saturday.
• Noel Buck played 19 minutes off the bench in the San Jose Earthquakes’ 2-0 win over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday.
• Niko Tsakiris was an unused sub in the San Jose-Colorado game.
• Paxten Aaronson played the full 90 and had a goal ruled out by VAR in Utrecht’s 0-2 loss to Twente on Sunday.
• Rokas Pukštas played 82 minutes, created 1 chance, made the most tackles (4), won the most duels (12), and lost the most duels (10) in Hajduk Split’s 1-1 draw with HNK Gorica on Sunday.
• Johnny Cardoso played 11 minutes off the bench as Real Betis drew 1-1 with Osasuna on Sunday.
• Sebastian Berhalter played the full 90, provided an assist (Brian White’s first goal, video is earlier in this article), and created 2 more chances in the Vancouver Whitecaps’ 2-2 draw with LAFC on Sunday.

Fullbacks

No injuries

• Kristoffer Lund played 20 minutes off the bench in Palermo’s 2-0 win over Frosinone on Friday. With the win, Palermo are into Serie B’s promotion playoffs.
• Bryan Reynolds played 78 minutes and created 2 chances in Westerlo’s 3-4 loss to Charleroi on Friday.
• John Tolkin played 71 minutes in Holstein Kiel’s 1-2 loss to Freiburg on Saturday. Holstein Kiel are relegated from the Bundesliga.
• Antonee Robinson wasn’t in Fulham’s squad for their 1-3 loss to Everton FC on Saturday.
• George Bello played the full 90 and created 1 chance in LASK Linz’s 0-0 draw with Hartberg on Saturday.
• Marlon Fossey played the full 90 in Standard Liège’s 0-0 draw with Mechelen on Saturday.
• Joe Scally played 45 minutes off the bench in Mönchengladbach’s 0-2 loss to Bayern Munich on Saturday.
• Peyton Miller played 87 minutes and created 1 chance in the New England Revolution’s 3-3 draw with Orlando City on Saturday.
• Alex Freeman played the full 90, created 3 chances, and won the most duels (11) in Orlando City’s 3-3 draw with the New England Revolution on Saturday.

• Max Arfsten played 89 minutes, scored, created 1 chance, and completed the most dribbles (5) in the Columbus Crew’s 2-2 draw with the Philadelphia Union on Saturday. Arfsten was rated Man of the Match by FotMob.

• Shaq Moore was an unused sub in FC Dallas’ 1-1 draw with RSL on Saturday.
• DeJuan Jones played the full 90, scored, and lost the most duels (7) in the San Jose Earthquakes’ 2-0 win over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. Jones was rated Man of the Match by FotMob.

• Richy Ledezma started, but was yanked only 26 minutes into PSV’s 3-2 comeback win over Feyenoord on Saturday.
• Sergiño Dest subbed in for Ledezma and played the remaining 64 minutes, completing 3/3 dribbles and making 6 passes into the final third.
• Nathaniel Brown played the full 90 and created 1 chance in Frankfurt’s 2-2 draw with St. Pauli on Sunday.

Center-backs

Injured: Cameron Carter-Vickers (hamstring, a few weeks), Walker Zimmerman (head, late May), Noahkai Banks (hip, late May), Jalen Neal (abdomen, back on the field), John Brooks (ankle, late May), Anrie Chase (adductor, late May)

• Auston Trusty played the full 90 in Celtic’s 3-1 win over Hibs on Saturday.
• Mark McKenzie played the full 90 and provided an assist (video here) as Toulouse drew 1-1 with Lens on Saturday.
• Miles Robinson played the full 90 in FC Cincinnati’s 2-1 win over Austin FC on Saturday.
• Matt Miazga played the first 45 minutes in the FC Cincy-Austin game.
• Jalen Neal played 79 minutes in CF Montréal’s 1-0 win over NYCFC on Saturday.
• Tim Ream played the full 90 in Charlotte FC’s 1-2 loss to Nashville SC on Saturday.
• Chris Richards played the full 90, made 3 passes into the final third, completed 3/5 long balls, made 3 clearances, 4 interceptions, and missed a big chance in Crystal Palace’s 2-0 win over Tottenham on Sunday.

• Joshua Wynder played the full 90 in Benfica B’s 1-1 draw with Penafiel on Sunday.
• Anrie Chase was not in VfB Stuttgart’s squad for their 4-0 win over Augsburg on Sunday.

Goalkeepers

Injured: Diego Kochen (concussion, back on the bench), Gaga Slonina (finger, mid-May)

• Jonathan Klinsmann played the full 90 and made 2 saves in Cesena’s 1-0 winover Cosenza on Friday. Klinsmann was rated Man of the Match by FotMob.
• Diego Kochen was an unused sub in Barça Atlètic’s 1-3 loss to FC Andorra on Saturday. Here’s a quick thread about Kochen’s recent lack of minutes.
• Chris Brady was out with a red card suspension, missing the Chicago Fire’s 2-1 win over Atlanta United on Saturday.
• Roman Celentano played the full 90 and made 1 save in FC Cincinnati’s 2-1 win over Austin FC on Saturday. He faced 0.70 xGOT, ending with -0.30 goals prevented.
• Matt Freese played the full 90 and made 6 saves in NYCFC’s 0-1 loss to CF Montréal on Saturday. Freese faced 2.73 xGOT, so he prevented 1.73 goals.
• Patrick Schulte played the full 90 and made 4 saves in the Columbus Crew’s 2-2 draw with the Philadelphia Union on Saturday. Schulte faced 1.85 xGOT, ending with -0.15 goals prevented.
• Zack Steffen played the full 90 and made 3 saves in the Colorado Rapids’ 0-2 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday. Steffen faced 1.33 xGOT, ending with -0.67 goals prevented.
• Matt Turner was an unused sub in Crystal Palace’s 2-0 win over Tottenham on Sunday.
• Diego Kochen was not in FC Barcelona’s squad for their 4-3 El Clásico win over Real Madrid on Sunday.

What were your takeaways? Hit the comments to discuss.