Midfielder Yunus Musah arrived in Columbus on Sunday with his first goal of the La Liga season in pocket. In a visit to Atlético Madrid on Saturday, the 19-year-old Valencia man opened the scoring in the 25th minute, receiving a ball from the right before driving towards goal and blasting his effort into the lower left corner.
The goal pushed Valencia to a 2-0 halftime advantage and Musah exited the game in the 88th minute with his side holding on to a 2-1 lead. However, two late goals from Atléti saw Valencia fall in heartbreaking fashion, 3-2.
While it was Musah’s first goal of the La Liga campaign, he has added two in Copa del Rey, pushing Valencia into the quarterfinals.
ON A ROLL
Elsewhere in Europe, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and Antonee Robinson should arrive in the proper frame of mind for three important FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
After all, their respective teams are on a roll.
Adams' RB Leipzig team has won four consecutive matches, including a 2-0 victory over Wolfsburg on Sunday, Jan. 23. The 22-year-old midfielder came off the bench in the 55th minute to help close out the team's third straight shutout, while USMNT teammate John Brooks went the full 90 minutes for Wolfsburg.
Leipzig, whose winning streak includes three league matches and another triumph in the DFB Pokal, has outscored its foes, 10-1, during that span. Sixth-place Leipzig (9-7-4, 31 points), which struggled earlier this season, is four points behind third-place Bayer Leverkusen.
In a hard-fought physical game, Juventus and McKennie played AC Milan to a scoreless draw at the San Siro on Sunday, Jan. 23. With the result, Juve stretched its Italian Serie A unbeaten run to nine games (6-0-3). McKennie, who played the entire match, had a chance to score for the visitors in the 85th minute, but his header sailed wide.
Fifth-place Juventus (12-5-6, 42) denied third-place Milan (15-4-4, 49) from moving closer to first-place Inter (16-1-5, 53).
Juventus last lost a league encounter on Nov. 27, a 1-0 home defeat to Atalanta.
Robinson and his Fulham teammates are riding a five-game win streak. The Cottagers' last four victories have come in the English Championship, in which they have outscored their opponents by a stunning 22-6 margin.
The 24-year-old defender played 90 minutes in both wins last week. He scored a goal and recorded an assist in the 6-2 trouncing of Birmingham City on Tuesday, Jan. 18. Robinson didn't figure in the scoring in the 3-2 victory at Stoke City on Saturday, Jan. 22.
Tim Ream, his USMNT teammate and center back, also went the full 90 in both matches as first-place Fulham (17-4-6, 57) increased its lead at the top of the EFL Championship table to eight points over Bournemouth (14-6-7, 49).
The USMNT hosts El Salvador in Columbus, Ohio Thursday, Jan. 27 before traveling to Hamilton, Ontario to face Canada on Sunday, Jan. 30. The Americans will welcome Honduras in St. Paul, Minn. on Wednesday, Feb. 2.
BAGGING A BRACE
It took Josh Sargent 1,036 minutes to score his first goal for Norwich City. It didn't take him nearly as long to strike for his second one in the English Premier League. The 21-year-old forward struck twice within a 23-minute span in the second half to propel Norwich City to a 3-0 victory over Watford in the English Premier League on Friday, Jan. 21. The win lifted the Canaries out of the relegation zone for the first time this season.
Named Man of the Match, Sargent scored a brilliant goal in the 51st minute. Teemu Pukki crossed the ball into the box from the edge of the end line on the right flank as Sargent flicked the ball with the back of his right heel onto the underside of the crossbar and over the goal line.
He doubled the visitors' lead in the 74th minute, heading home Milot Rashica’s cross from the left at the far post.
Sargent (21 years, 335 days) became the third youngest USMNT player to register a goal in the English top-flight, trailing only Jozy Altidore (20 years, 92 days) and Christian Pulisic (21 years, 38 days).
FIRST STEPS
Thirty-nine days after helping New York City FC lift the MLS Cup, midfielder James Sands made his debut for Rangers FC in the Scottish Premiership on Tuesday, Jan. 18. He played the entire 90 minutes and acquitted himself well in a 1-1 draw at Aberdeen.
FULL RUNDOWN
-- Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig; German Bundesliga) – 35 minutes as a substitute in 2-0 win vs. Wolfsburg (Jan. 23); 90 minutes in 2-0 win vs. Hansa Rostock in DFB Pokal (Jan. 19)
-- John Brooks (Wolfsburg; Germany Bundesliga) - 90 minutes in 2-0 loss at RB Leipzig (Jan. 23); 90 minutes in 0-0 draw vs. Hertha Berlin (Jan. 15)
-- Gianluca Busio (Venezia; Italy Serie A) - Injured, DNP in 2-1 loss at Inter Milan (Jan. 22)
-- Reggie Cannon (Boavista; Portuguese Primeira) - 90 minutes in 1-1 draw at Pacos Ferreira (Jan. 21)
-- Cameron Carter-Vickers; (Celtic; Scottish Premiership) - Not in 18, DNP in 2-1 win at Alloa Athletic in Scottish FA Cup (Jan. 22); 90 minutes in 2-0 win vs. Hibernian (Jan. 17)
-- Konrad de la Fuente (Marseille; French Ligue 1) - Injured, DNP in 2-0 win at Lens (Jan. 22)
-- Luca de la Torre (Heracles; Dutch Eredivisie) - 90 minutes in 1-1 draw vs. Go Ahead Eagles (Jan. 23)
-- Daryl Dike (West Bromwich Albion; English Championship) - 53 minutes in 3-0 win vs. Peterborough United (Jan. 22)
-- Sergiño Dest (Barcelona; Spain La Liga) - 90 minutes in 1-0 win at Alaves (Jan. 23); 24 minutes as a substitute in 3-2 loss at Athletic Bilboa in Copa Del Rey (Jan. 20)
-- Nicholas Gioacchini (Montpellier; French Ligue 1) - 19 minutes as a substitute in 3-2 win vs. Monaco (Jan. 23); 5 minutes as a substitute in 1-0 loss vs. Troyes (Jan. 19)
-- Julian Green (Greuther Fürth; German Bundesliga) - Injured, DNP in 2-1 win vs. Mainz (Jan. 22)
-- Matthew Hoppe (Mallorca; Spanish Primera) - In 18, DNP in 3-0 loss at Villarreal (Jan. 22)
-- Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest; English Championship) - In 18, DNP in 2-1 win vs. Derby County (Jan. 22)
-- Richy Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven; Dutch Eredivisie) - In 18, DNP in 2-1 loss vs. Ajax (Jan. 23); In 18, DNP in 2-1 win vs. Telstar (Jan. 20)
-- Weston McKennie (Juventus; Italy Serie A) - 90 minutes in 0-0 draw at A.C. Milan (Jan. 23); In 18, DNP in 4-1 win vs. Sampdoria in Coppa Italia (Jan. 18)
-- Mark McKenzie (Genk; Belgian Pro League) - 67 minutes in 2-1 loss at Union Saint-Gilloise (Jan. 23); Vs. Mechelen, ppd. (Jan. 18)
-- Matt Miazga (Alaves; Spain La Liga) - In 18, DNP in 1-0 loss vs. Barcelona (Jan. 23); 90 minutes in 4-0 loss at Real Betis (Jan. 18)
-- Shaq Moore (Tenerife; Spain Segunda Division) - 6 minutes as a substitute in 4-0 win vs. Real Oviedo (Jan. 21)
-- Yunus Musah (Valencia; Spain La Liga) - 88 minutes and a GOAL in 3-2 loss at Atletico Madrid (Jan. 22); 85 minutes in 1-1 draw vs. Sevilla (Jan. 19)
-- Erik Palmer-Brown (Troyes; French Ligue 1) - 90 minutes in 2-1 loss at Angers (Jan. 23); 86 minutes in 1-0 win at Montpellier (Jan. 19)
-- Ricardo Pepi (Augsburg; Bundesliga) - 57 minutes in 5-1 loss at Bayer Leverkusen (Jan. 22)
-- Christian Pulisic (Chelsea; English Premier League) - In 18, DNP in 2-0 win vs. Tottenham Hotspur (Jan. 23); In 18, DNP in 1-1 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion (Jan. 18)
-- Tim Ream (Fulham; English Championship) - 90 minutes in 3-2 win at Stoke City (Jan. 22); 90 minutes in 6-2 win vs. Birmingham City (Jan. 18)
-- Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund; Bundesliga) - Injured, DNP in 3-2 win at Hoffenheim (Jan. 22); Injured, DNP in 2-1 loss at St. Pauli in DFB Pokal (Jan. 18)
-- Chris Richards (Hoffenheim; German Bundesliga) - 90 minutes in 3-2 loss vs. Borussia Dortmund (Jan. 22); 90 minutes in 4-1 loss vs. Freiburg in DFB Pokal (Jan. 19)
-- Antonee Robinson (Fulham; English Championship) - 90 minutes in 3-2 win at Stoke City (Jan. 22); 90 minutes and a GOAL AND ASSIST in 6-2 win vs. Birmingham City (Jan. 18)
-- James Sands (Rangers, Scottish Premiership) -- In 18, DNP in 4-0 win vs. Stirling Albion in Scottish FA Cup (Jan. 21); 90 minutes in 1-1 draw at Aberdeen (Jan. 18)
-- Josh Sargent (Norwich City; English Premier League) - 90 minutes and TWO GOALS in 3-0 win at Watford (Jan. 21)
-- Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach; Bundesliga) - 3 minutes as a substitute in 2-1 loss vs. Union Berlin (Jan. 22); 67 minutes in 3-0 loss at Hannover 96 in DFB Pokal (Jan. 19)
-- Zack Steffen (Manchester City; English Premier League) - Not in 18, DNP in 1-1 draw at Southampton (Jan. 22)
-- Tanner Tessmann (Venezia; Italy Serie A) - 66 minutes in 2-1 loss at Inter Milan (Jan. 22)
-- Sam Vines (Royal Antwerp; Belgian Pro League) - In 18, DNP in 2-1 win at Oostende (Jan. 21)
-- DeAndre Yedlin (Galatasaray; Turkish Super Lig) - 2 minutes as a substitute in 2-1 loss vs. Trabzonspor (Jan. 23); 90 minutes in 3-1 loss vs. Kasimpasa (Jan. 20)
-- Tim Weah (Lille; French Ligue 1) - 67 minutes in 2-0 loss at Brest (Jan. 22); 22 minutes as a substitute in 3-1 win vs. Lorient (Jan. 19)