USMNT Europa League match day 1 recap: Chris Richards, Weston McKennie lead big wins on opening day.

Thursday afternoons are going to be a lot of fun for USMNT fans this fall. There is a huge contingent of Americans playing in Europa League this season, including many prominent figures. For matchday 1, games were separated between Wednesday and Thursday. Nevertheless, there were several Americans in action across the past two days, with many of them helping their teams to a positive result.

Tyler Adams, Bournemouth

It was a dream first half for Adams and Bournemouth in the club’s European debut. The Cherries scored two goals in the first 20 minutes to take a commanding lead at Real Sociedad. Meanwhile, Adams kept things tight in the midfield, as the Spanish side failed to register a shot on target in the first half. Of course, things got complicated in the second half, especially after Adams was subbed off in the 63rd minute. Luckily, the Cherries hung on for the 2-1 victory, a historic result for the club.

Christ Richards, Crystal Palace

Amidst an uneven start to the Premier League season, Richards and Crystal Palace had a brilliant Europa League debut. Within 35 minutes, Palace had taken a 3-0 lead over Lech Poznan. Richards headed in the second goal off the corner kick, finding the back of the net for the first time since January. Perhaps more importantly, Richards led the back line in helping Crystal Palace maintain a clean sheet in a 4-0 win, which is a big step forward for the American.

Malik Tillman, Bayer Leverkusen

It was a good day for Leverkusen, who scored a 2-0 win over NK Celje to open their Europa League campaign. However, Tillman struggled to stand out in a game that Leverkusen dominated. He created two chances, but his passing accuracy was off, and he was removed after 61 minutes. The performance continued a somewhat sluggish start to the season for Tillman, although there is no reason to be alarmed just yet.

Weston McKennie, Juventus

Playing in his first game in over three weeks, McKennie had an outstanding performance. The versatile midfielder was needed on the left wing, where he played 61 minutes for Juventus. McKennie registered an assist on the team’s second goal, while also contributing four tackles and eight defensive contributions, reminding everyone that he can play both sides of the ball. Despite only having the legs to play a little more than an hour, McKennie was one of the better players on the field in a lopsided 5-0 win for Juventus.

Yunus Musah, AC Milan

Musah played all 90 minutes of a rather lackluster performance by Milan in a 2-0 home loss to Benfica. Overall, Musah had a solid if unspectacular game, grading as Milan’s second-best player among the team’s starters. He continues to log heavy minutes at club level this season, which has no doubt assisted in his return to the national team.

Christian Pulisic, AC Milan

Pulisic subbed on at halftime of Milan’s loss, with the hope that he could spark a comeback the way he did last weekend when he got an assist to help Milan erase a 2-0 deficit and draw with Lazio. Unfortunately, lightning didn’t strike twice, with Milan failing to find the back of the net. To his credit, Pulisic did what he could, looking bright at times. He created two chances and took two shots on goal over 45 minutes. If nothing else, Pulisic looks relatively healthy and ready to get his first start of the season.

Tanner Tessman, Lyon

Tessman played all 90 minutes in Lyon’s 2-1 win over Anderlecht to open the Europa League season. His performance got a little lost in the shuffle, but Tessman did his usual box-to-box work. He didn’t generate much going forward for Lyon. However, Tessman had four defensive contributions and won all three of his ground duels. Given his lack of playing time in Ligue 1 games in recent weeks, this was a big 90 minutes for Tessman.

Tim Weah, Marseille

It’s going to be a long flight home from Istanbul for Weah’s Marseille team. After being tied 1-1 at the half, the Marseille defense fell apart in the second half, with the French side ultimately losing 4-1 to Besiktas. Weah played all 90 minutes but struggled to get forward and create chances. Despite holding his own for the most part defensively, as the right-back, Weah does share in the blame of Marseille conceding four goals.

Cameron Carter-Vickers, Celtic

With USMNT teammate Auston Trusty on the bench, Carter-Vickers got the start at center-back for Celtic. But it was not a good day for CCV and the Celtic defense. Despite winning most of his duels and having several key clearances, Carter-Vickers couldn’t prevent three goals from hitting the back of the net, as the Scottish side lost to Ferencvaros 3-1.

Bryan Reynolds, Rennes

Reynolds got something of a surprise start for Rennes, who played Sturm Graz to a scoreless draw on Wednesday. Despite being relegated to the bench for most of the Ligue 1 season thus far, Reynolds was one of Rennes’ better players. He played 80 minutes at right-back, looking solid defensively and creating three chances in a scoreless draw. If nothing else, Reynolds should rotate in during Europa League matches, although he made a good case for more domestic playing time with his performance on Wednesday. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow