In this week’s USMNT tracker, the sport’s load management movement strikes… Greg O’Keeffe!
Our usual writer is away on holiday, being rotated out to keep him fresh for the season’s business end. I’m here instead to help guide you through a busy weekend that saw more than 20 Americans ply their trades in Europe’s top leagues.
Among the topics this week: Milan is unable to make up for a well-contained Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson racks up more superlatives, a couple of Championship goalscorers, and much more. Tracker? I hardly know her!
Issue of the weekend
Given how little wiggle room Celtic affords opponents in the Scottish Premiership, any mistake made by one of Scotland’s giants is a rare gift indeed.
Motherwell thought they’d done just enough in the 23rd minute as they welcomed Celtic to Fir Park. Trailing from the first minute, Motherwell worked up the field and sent a cross into the heart of the box. Auston Trusty was well-positioned to clear it, but a scuffed first touch fell right to Luke Armstrong, who smashed the second chance past Kasper Schmeichel to level the score.
Celtic had an answer, as they so often do. The visitors regained the lead seven minutes later, protected that one-goal lead valiantly before adding a third for good measure deep into second-half stoppage time. The 3-1 win left them 10 points clear of second-placed Rangers despite having played one game fewer.
“I liked how we controlled it at 2-1, because sometimes at 2-1 it only takes a long throw or a corner, but we controlled all those moments really well,” Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said after the game. “So (I’m) really pleased with everything that gave to the game.”
Celtic’s Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty (Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images)
While Trusty’s inability to quickly clear that cross cost his team a clean sheet, it was another otherwise dominant showing for Celtic. Motherwell managed just one additional shot across the match, making this the fifth league game where Celtic’s opponent offered only two attempts or fewer. It was also their 11th game (from 24) allowing five shots or fewer across two halves.
In the first year of this all-American partnership with Cameron Carter-Vickers, Trusty serves as the primary point-person in possession as Rodgers’ attack skews to the left through Daizen Maeda and Greg Taylor.
Trusty led all players on Sunday with 144 touches. Carter-Vickers was fourth with “just” 124 touches. The duo completed 210 of 225 pass attempts, while Trusty was also more proactive in defending on the front foot.
While the inability to find a consistent striker plagued the USMNT throughout the 2022 World Cup cycle, the run-up to next year’s version sees the anxiety shift to the opposite end of the field. At present, there is no clear pecking order at center-back. Chris Richards is back in Crystal Palace’s line-up, while Tim Ream, Walker Zimmerman and Miles Robinson are all nearing the start of the season in MLS.
When Celtic signed Trusty this summer, USMNT fans had ample reason for optimism about his consistent partnership with Carter-Vickers. While individual talent is obviously of paramount importance, having a well-established duo can help a national team navigate a tournament with some vital continuity in the back. The question is whether or not this pair is getting enough of a test at Celtic, where only a few games of the league season pose a serious test.
Combine that with Matt Turner’s inability to secure action this season — he is Dean Henderson’s backup at Palace — and three vital roles at the back of Mauricio Pochettino’s team are entirely up for grabs with just 16 months remaining before the World Cup. Time will tell if the pair will get a runout in tandem under Pochettino when the Nations League resumes in March.
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Player of the weekend
Antonee Robinson, the best left-back in the Premier League, was his typically impactful self on Saturday as Fulham visited Newcastle.
Donning the captain’s armband, as is increasingly common for him these days, Robinson logged an assist with a deft lobbed first touch in a transition sequence to bring the game level in the 61st minute. Fulham completed their comeback win 21 minutes later, leaving St James’ Park with all three points and finishing the weekend ninth in the Premier League.
Robinson has accrued quite the list of superlatives in recent months, from his top-tier status in the league to being U.S. Soccer’s male player of the year for 2024. His helper on Raul Jimenez’s equalizer carved him a place in Fulham history, too. That was his 10th league assist, tying Steed Malbranque’s club record set back in 2003-04 with 14 games still to play, and left him trailing only Mohamed Salah (13) in the current season’s assist leaderboard.
Coming into January, Robinson seemed like an obvious target for a mid-season transfer as multiple clubs in and about the European places needed an upgrade at left-back. But with the deadline set to pass in the hours following this piece’s publication, it’s looking increasingly likely that Fulham will keep their main man through the end of the season, which would only bolster their hopes of a top-half finish.
It would hardly be a bad thing for Robinson’s career on the surface, though his window for playing in continental competition would diminish as a result.
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Quote of the weekend
Not too long ago, it seemed inevitable that the last week of January 2025 would be eventful for Ricardo Pepi.
At the time, that was due to the open transfer window, with Pepi filling a need for several clubs lacking quality and depth at striker. Instead, it was notable for a host of different reasons, but none that’ll see Pepi packing his bags and leaving Eindhoven — not this week, nor any time soon.
Pepi scored in PSV’s 3-2 win over a heavily-rotated Liverpool side as the Champions League’s league phase closed, but then left the game late with an injury. The club ultimately announced it was a knee problem that will require surgery. His status will be closely monitored, and he could now miss March’s Nations League semifinal against Panama.
Pepi has made a real impact at PSV this season (Maurice van Steen/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
There was one more bright spot to sandwich that injury setback, however, as PSV signed 22-year-old Pepi to an extension that could keep him at the Dutch club through 2030.
“Thanks to the enormous amount of love and opportunities PSV gives me and the special club that PSV is, I had no doubts about extending my contract,” Pepi said in the club’s announcement. “We have already experienced many unforgettable moments together and hopefully many special milestones will follow.”
PSV is playing the long game here, and the market for young backup strikers has never been hotter. Pepi’s path to his present standing is very similar to that of Jhon Duran, as both left MLS and became a super-sub in a bigger league, but have yet to be the main man for a European club. With Aston Villa now having sold Duran, 21, to Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr for nearly $80 million, PSV tacking years onto Pepi’s deal is smart business.
It’s also a vote of confidence that someday, maybe, Pepi will regularly lead the line at the Philips Stadion.
How did other U.S. players get on?
Name: Christian Pulisic
Club: Milan
Position: Right-winger
Appearances (all competitions): 28
Goals: 12
After scoring the sole goal in Milan’s midweek 2-1 Champions League defeat at Dinamo Zagreb, Pulisic logged 86 minutes in his club’s fiercely contested Derby della Madonnina. Milan tied 1-1 with their San Siro co-tenants, with a late Inter equalizer coming after Pulisic exited the match late in the second half.
Pulisic created three chances and had his sole shot blocked.
Milan’s Pulisic endured a frustrating derby against Inter (Luca Rossini/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Name: Yunus Musah
Club: Milan
Position: Central midfielder
Appearances: 26
Goals: 0
It was Musah who was sent off midweek against Dinamo Zagreb after drawing a costly second yellow card in the 39th minute. He was back in the line-up for Sunday’s Derby della Madonnina, completing 26 of 27 pass attempts in a 78-minute shift.
The draw saw Milan fall to eighth in Serie A — four points behind sixth-ranked Lazio for the final European place.
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Name: Mark McKenzie
Club: Toulouse
Position: Center-back
Appearances: 20
Goals: 1
The Philadelphia Union homegrown scored his first goal for Toulouse on Sunday, helping his club notch a useful 1-1 draw against OGC Nice. It’s just deserts for over half a year of dependable play in Ligue 1, where he’s now started 18 league games for the 10th-ranked side.
⏱️ 85′
⚽️ Mark égalise, les Violets sont récompensés de leurs efforts !Maintenant, on va chercher un second but 💪😈
1-1 #TFCOGCN pic.twitter.com/j0x5yKkN2g
— Toulouse FC (@ToulouseFC) February 2, 2025
Name: Josh Sargent
Club: Norwich City
Position: Striker
Appearances: 17
Goals: 7
That groin injury which forced Sargent to miss 14 Championship matches sure seems to have healed well.
The Missourian is up to three goals in his first two starts post-recovery, rippling the net with a classic poacher’s tap-in to give the Canaries a 1-0 win at Watford. The result sent Norwich above Watford and two other teams in the standings in the English second tier, now perched in eighth place through 30 matches.
Name: Chris Richards
Club: Crystal Palace
Position: Center-back
Appearances: 16
Goals: 0
Richards went a full 90 in a terrific 2-0 victory at Old Trafford. He did well to contain Alejandro Garnacho out wide, while his four aerial duel wins (from six attempts) tied him for the team lead.
Perhaps most encouraging for his hopes of staying in the line-up, Palace has won four times in Richards’ current run of six consecutive starts along the back.
Richards holds off Garnacho (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Name: Noahkai Banks
Club: Augsburg
Position: Center-back
Appearances: 5
Goals: 0
The 18-year-old made a second consecutive start in the Bundesliga, lasting 79 minutes in a 1-1 draw at St Pauli. Unfortunately, Banks swung the result against his side’s interests as a sliding effort to clear a bouncing ball from the goal line instead pushed it into the goalmouth to open the scoring.
Consider it a tough lesson for a young defender who still showed plenty of promise across the rest of his shift.
Name: James Sands
Club: St Pauli
Position: Central midfielder
Appearances: 5
Goals: 0
On the reverse side of the fixture, Sands played in a slightly more advanced role of St Pauli’s midfield. While his 64 per cent pass accuracy is concerningly low, he did complete three of his four attempts in the final third. Sands has yet to log a minute at center-back during his loan spell.
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Name: Tanner Tessmann
Club: Lyon
Position: Central midfielder
Appearances: 18
Goals: 0
U.S. Soccer’s newly minted Young Player of the Year came off the bench in the 86th minute of Lyon’s 3-2 defeat at Marseille, with the club falling to seventh in Ligue 1. Worryingly, Lyon is winless in its last six matches across all competitions, with Tessmann logging just 135 minutes across those fixtures.
Name: Brenden Aaronson
Club: Leeds United
Position: Attacking midfielder
Appearances: 31
Goals: 8
Aaronson scored the opener in Leeds’ 7-0 thrashing of poor Cardiff City, hustling to reward Daniel James’ rounding of the goalkeeper by meeting his cutback cross for a tap-in.
Aaronson celebrates his opener (Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)
Name: Tim Weah
Club: Juventus
Position: Right-back
Appearances: 24
Goals: 5
Weah assisted in a 4-1 comeback victory against Empoli. His defensive positioning was also sound, playing as the more withdrawn full-back compared to left-sided counterpart Nicolo Savona.
Name: Weston McKennie
Club: Juventus
Position: Attacking midfielder
Appearances: 26
Goals: 4
Mere days after captaining Juventus for the first time, McKennie was in the starting line-up again against Empoli.
He saw a dramatic change in deployment, however, going from a left-back on Wednesday to logging 85 minutes as a central attacking midfielder. His versatility continues to be invaluable for Juventus, who now sits 4th in Serie A having lost just once.
McKennie played as a left-back against Empoli (Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
Name: Jordan Pefok
Club: Union Berlin
Position: Striker
Appearances: 20
Goals: 0, still
A quick follow-up from last week’s section on poor Pefok, who was unable to end his scoring slump from the bench in a scoreless draw against RB Leipzig.
The striker did take one shot, having been fed a chance in the 95th minute with a sizable 0.36 xG, but Peter Gulacsi did well to see out a clean sheet for the visitors.
What’s coming up?
(All times ET)
If Robinson stays with Fulham on deadline day, as expected, his next game will be against his previous club, Wigan Athletic, in the FA Cup’s fourth round on Saturday (10am, ESPN+). It would be a bit of poetic justice, as the left-back rebuilt his stock with the EFL side from the outskirts of Manchester, currently 16th out of 24 in the third tier, before moving to Fulham in summer 2020.
Aidan Morris remains a fixture of Middlesbrough’s lineup as north-east neighbours Sunderland visit later today in a Monday special (3pm, Paramount+). Middlesbrough has won just one of its last five games in all competitions, and is outside of the Championship’s promotion play-off places on goal difference entering this fixture.
Pulisic and Musah will hope to stay in the Milan team for Wednesday’s Coppa Italia quarterfinal against Roma (3pm, Paramount+). McKennie and Weah will be spared a midweek fixture as Juventus’ quarterfinal meeting with Empoli isn’t for three weeks, but return to action on Friday with a Serie A trip to Como (2:45pm, Paramount+).
Tyler Adams and Bournemouth will hope to bounce back after their 11-game winless run got snapped by Liverpool this past weekend. They’ll head to Goodison Park to face a revived Everton on Saturday (10am, ESPN+), also in the FA Cup’s fourth round. And while League One is seldom spotlighted in these articles, Leyton Orient will likely have their 23-year-old American striker Charlie Kelman leading the line that same day as Premier League champions Manchester City visit the east Londoners in round four of the cup (7:15am, ESPN+).
(Top photos: Getty Images)
