USMNT REWIND: Jordan Pefok and Tim Ream Find the Back of the Net
Dike tallies fifth goal in as many matches, McKenzie collects assist in Europa League
Tim Ream will never win a golden boot but he remembered to put his left boot in front of a cross to score a rare goal for Fulham on Saturday.
The U.S. Men's National Team center back scored only his fourth goal of a 13-year professional career and first in almost four years as the Cottagers played Preston North End to a 1-1 draw in the English Championship.
After Harry Wilson was fouled on the right side, Jean Michaël Seri swung in a free kick to Ream at the near post and the Fulham captain poked it home from close-range to give Fulham a 1-0 advantage in the 16th minute.
The 34-year-old defender last found the net for Fulham in a 4-2 win at Cardiff City on Dec. 26, 2017 (Boxing Day).
Named Man of the Match, Ream and fellow USA defender Antonee Robinson each went the full 90 minutes in the Cottagers' tie, which left Fulham (13-3-4, 43 points) on top of the Championship table.
MEMORABLE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TUESDAY
Tuesday, Nov. 23 turned out to be another busy and historic night for USMNT players in the UEFA Champions League. A record six members of the player pool started for their respective teams and seven players participated in matches.
Jordan Pefok scored in Young Boys’ wild 3-3 home draw with Atalanta, and four other USMNT players faced off in a pair of confrontations.
Pefok headed in Michel Aebischer’s corner kick in the 39th minute to give his team a 1-0 lead over its Italian Serie A rivals in Group F. He tallied for the 10th time across all competitions this season, the most by an U.S. international on top-tier teams in European leagues. The goal was Pefok’s first since Sept. 25.
* In the first of two USMNT vs. USMNT confrontations, Christian Pulisic’s Chelsea side prevailed, rolling to a 4-0 victory against Weston McKennie and Juventus in a Group H match. Pulisic, who started in his first game since FIFA World Cup qualifying in September, played 72 minutes before being replaced by Timo Werner, while McKennie went the full 90 minutes.
The win boosted the Blues, who are atop the English Premier League, into the knockout round as Juventus suffered its worst UCL defeat ever.
* In the second encounter between teammates, Tim Weah’s Lille, edged Brenden Aaronson and Red Bull Salzburg, 1-0 to grab the Group G lead. Weah, one of the biggest contributors of the USMNT’s last two qualifiers, played 84 minutes, while Aaronson went 85 minutes. Lille is 2-1-2 with eight points, a point ahead of second-place Salzburg (2-2-1, 7).
* Center back John Brooks played 88 minutes in Wolfsburg's 2-0 loss at Sevilla in Group G.
* Defender Sergiño Dest came on for the final four minutes for Barcelona in its 0-0 home draw with Benfica in Group E. With the cameo, the full back moved past Sacha Kljestan and into fifth all-time in appearances among USMNT players in the Champions League.
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Most Champions League Appearances by USMNT Players |
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Player |
UCL Appearances |
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Christian Pulisic |
38 |
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Jermaine Jones |
23 |
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DaMarcus Beasley |
22 |
|
Weston McKennie |
18 |
|
Sergiño Dest |
15 |
McKENNIE INJURY
McKennie continued in the Juventus starting XI for their Serie A match on Saturday, performing well before a knee injury forced the USMNT midfielder out of the match in the 64th minute.
Medical tests performed by Juventus on Sunday ruled out, “capsule ligament injuries of the right knee”, but the club said McKennie’s condition would be monitored daily.
PLAYOFF GOAL
Daryl Dike scored Orlando City SC's lone goal in its 3-1 defeat at Nashville SC in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals in the MLS Cup Playoffs on Tuesday. In the 14th minute, Mauricio Pereyra sent in a corner kick from the left side that Dike nodded home for his fifth goal in as many matches.
The striker ended the season with 11 goals and three assists in 19 matches across all competitions.
TIMELY ASSIST
Defender Mark McKenzie was credited with the assist on Ike Ugbo's 45th-minute equalizing goal in Genk’s 1-1 draw with Dinamo Zagreb in UEFA Europa League play on Thursday. The USMNT center back won an initial header on the corner kick, knocking it down for Ugbo to sweep home the equalizer at the near post.
The result leaves Genk still alive to advance from Group H in second place heading into the group finale on Dec. 12 against Rapid Vienna.
TAKING ANOTHER STEP
Seattle Sounders winger Jordan Morris made his first start since returning from a torn left ACL, playing 104 minutes in the club’s Western Conference quarterfinal clash against Real Salt Lake on Nov. 23. After a scoreless draw, Seattle went down on penalty kicks 6-5. USMNT teammate Cristian Roldan went the distance for the Sounders in the shootout defeat.
After suffering a torn ACL while on loan to Swansea City (English Championship) in February, Morris made two substitute appearances at the end of the MLS regular season against the LA Galaxy and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
FULL RUNDOWN
-- Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig; German Bundesliga) – 17 minutes as a substitute in 3-1 loss vs. Bayer Leverkusen (Nov. 28); Not in 18, DNP in 5-0 win at Club Brugge in UCL (Nov. 24)
-- Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg; Austria Bundesliga) - 61 minutes in 2-1 loss at Austria Klagenfurst (Nov. 27); 85 minutes in 1-0 loss at Lille in UCL (Nov. 23)
-- Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids; MLS) - 90 minutes in 1-0 loss vs. Portland Timbers in MLS Cup Playoffs (Nov. 25)
-- Tyler Boyd (Rizespor; Turkish Super Lig) - 73 minutes in 1-0 win vs. Kayserispor (Nov. 27)
-- John Brooks (Wolfsburg; Germany Bundesliga) - 90 minutes in 3-1 loss vs. Borussia Dortmund (Nov. 27); 88 minutes in 2-0 loss at Sevilla in UCL (Nov. 23)
-- Gianluca Busio (Venezia; Italy Serie A) - 90 minutes in 2-0 loss vs. Inter Milan (Nov. 27)
-- Reggie Cannon (Boavista; Portuguese Primeira) - Not in 18, DNP in 2-1 loss at Arouca (Nov. 27)
-- Christian Cappis (Brøndby; Danish Superliga) - 6 minutes as a substitute in 1-0 win vs. Randers (Nov. 28); 15 minutes as a substitute in 3-1 loss vs. Lyon in Europa League (Nov. 25)
-- Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic; Scottish Premiership) - 90 minutes in 2-1 win vs. Aberdeen (Nov. 28); 90 minutes in 3-2 loss at Bayer Leverkusen in Europa League (Nov. 25)
-- Johnny Cardoso (Internacional; Brazilian Serie A) - 45 minutes in 1-1 draw vs. Santos (Nov. 28); In 18, DNP in 1-0 win at Fluminense (Nov. 24)
-- Konrad de la Fuente (Marseille; French Ligue 1) - 69 minutes in 1-0 win vs. Troyes (Nov. 28); 27 minutes as a substitute in 4-2 loss at Galatasaray in Europa League (Nov. 25)
-- Luca de la Torre (Heracles; Dutch Eredivisie) - 90 minutes in 1-0 loss at Utrecht (Nov. 28)
-- Sergiño Dest (Barcelona; Spain La Liga) - In 18, DNP in 3-1 win at Villarreal (Nov. 27); 4 minutes as a substitute in 0-0 draw at Benfica in UCL (Nov. 23)
-- Daryl Dike (Orlando City SC; MLS) - 90 minutes and a GOAL in 3-1 loss at Nashville SC in MLS Cup Playoffs (Nov. 23)
-- Nicholas Gioacchini (Montpellier; French Ligue 1) - 56 minutes in 1-0 loss vs. Lyon (Nov. 28)
-- Julian Green (Greuther Fürth; German Bundesliga) - In 18, DNP in 6-3 loss vs. Hoffenheim (Nov. 27)
-- Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest; English Championship) - In 18, DNP in 0-0 draw at West Bromwich Albion (Nov. 26); In 18, DNP in 0-0 draw vs. Luton Town (Nov. 23)
-- Weston McKennie (Juventus; Italian Serie A) – 64 minutes in 1-0 loss vs. Atalanta (Nov. 27); 90 minutes in 4-0 loss at Chelsea in UCL (Nov. 23)
-- Mark McKenzie (Genk; Belgian Pro League) - In 18, DNP in 3-2 loss vs. Club Brugge (Nov. 27); 90 minutes and an ASSIST in 1-1 draw at Dinamo Zagreb in Europa League (Nov. 25)
-- Matt Miazga (Alaves; Spanish Primera) - In 18, DNP in 2-1 loss vs. Celta Vigo (Nov. 27)
-- Shaq Moore (Tenerife; Spain Segunda Division) - In 18, DNP in 2-0 win vs. Real Sociedad B (Nov. 28)
-- Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC; MLS) - 104 minutes in 0-0 draw, lost in PKs, 6-5, to Real Salt Lake in MLS Cup Playoffs (Nov. 23)
-- Yunus Musah (Valencia; Spain La Liga) - 8 minutes as a substitute in 1-1 draw vs. Rayo Vallecano (Nov. 27)
-- Erik Palmer-Brown (Troyes; French Ligue 1) - Not in 18, DNP in 1-0 loss at Marseille (Nov. 28); In 18, DNP in 1-0 loss vs. Saint-Etienne (Nov. 21)
-- Jordan Pefok (Young Boys; Swiss Super League) - 90 minutes in 1-0 loss at Zurich (Nov. 28); 90 minutes and a GOAL in 3-3 draw vs. Atalanta in UCL (Nov. 23)
-- Christian Pulisic (Chelsea; English Premier League) - 12 minutes as a substitute in 1-1 draw vs. Manchester United (Nov. 28); 72 minutes in 4-0 win vs. Juventus in UCL (Nov. 23)
-- Tim Ream (Fulham; English Championship) - 90 minutes and a GOAL in 1-1 draw at Preston North End (Nov. 27); 90 minutes in 0-0 draw vs. Derby County (Nov. 24)
-- Bryan Reynolds (Roma; Italy Serie A) - In 18, DNP in 1-0 win vs. Torino (Nov. 28); In 18, DNP in 4-0 win vs. Zorya in Europa Conference League (Nov. 25)
-- Chris Richards (Hoffenheim; German Bundesliga) - 27 minutes as a substitute in 6-3 win at Greuther Fürth (Nov. 27)
-- Antonee Robinson (Fulham; English Championship) - 90 minutes in 1-1 draw at Preston North End (Nov. 27); 90 minutes in 0-0 draw vs. Derby County (Nov. 24)
-- Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC; MLS) - 120 minutes in 0-0 draw, lost in PKs, 6-5 to Real Salt Lake in MLS Cup Playoffs (Nov. 23)
-- Josh Sargent (Norwich City; English Premier League) - 68 minutes in 0-0 draw vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers (Nov. 27)
-- Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach; Bundesliga) - 81 minutes in 4-1 loss at Köln (Nov. 27)
-- Zack Steffen (Manchester City; English Premier League) - In 18, DNP in 2-1 win vs. West Ham United (Nov. 28); In 18, DNP in 2-1 win vs. Paris St-Germain in UCL (Nov. 24)
-- Tanner Tessmann (Venezia; Italy Serie A) - 17 minutes as a substitute in 2-1 loss vs. Inter Milan (Nov. 27)
-- Sam Vines (Royal Antwerp; Belgian Pro League) - 90 minutes in 3-0 win vs. Oosetende (Nov. 28); 90 minutes in 2-2 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt in Europa League (Nov. 25)
-- Tim Weah (Lille; French Ligue 1) - 14 minutes as a substitute in 1-1 draw vs. Nantes (Nov. 27); 84 minutes in 1-0 win vs. Red Bull Salzburg in UCL (Nov. 23)
-- DeAndre Yedlin (Galatasaray; Turkish Super Lig) - 90 minutes in 0-0 draw at Yeni Malatyaspor 90 minutes in 4-2 win vs. Marseille in Europa League (Nov. 25)
-- Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; MLS) - 120 minutes in 1-1 draw at Philadelphia Union, lost in PKs, 2-0, in MLS Cup Playoffs (Nov. 28); 90 minutes in 3-1 win vs. Orlando City in MLS Cup Playoffs (Nov. 23)