The playoff round of European competitions showcased several Americans’ performances. Erik Palmer-Brown scored for Panathinaikos, aiding their 2-1 victory. Dante Polvara’s goal helped Aberdeen draw 2-2. Celtic drew 0-0 with Kairat Almaty despite dominating possession, while other Americans like Leon Flach and Chris Richards contributed in various matches.
The third round off European qualification completed during the week, further narrowing the list of Americans attempting to reach the various League Phases. Erik Palmer-Brown will breathe a sigh of relief after his team’s narrow win, while the American pair of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty at Celtic learned their opponents as they begin their adventure next week in the play-off round.
The road to the group stage of European competition continued rolling along, with the third qualification rounds of the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League all kicking off last week.
In the early-rounds of qualification to reach the group stages for the three European competitions, Rokas Pukštas was the only American to earn a start for his team, however the most memorable performance of the round was a limited cameo by former USMNT player Aron Jóhannson.
New LASK arrival George Bello will have a pair of Europa League games against Liverpool to look forward to, while Paxten Aaronson and Tim Chandler will be favorites to advance from their Europa Conference League group with Frankfurt.
Ricardo Pepi was held goalless in his final game with Groningen, while Djordje Mihailovic and AZ Alkmaar were unable to claim their golden chance to jump into the Eredivisie top three.
The 15-point deduction announced on Juventus by the Italian Football Federation for financial violations has added a complicated degree of uncertainty to Weston McKennie’s long-term future with the club.
The draw for the initial knock-out round of the Europa League final stage was set on Monday, pitting Weston McKennie and Juventus against Nantes, and handing Jordan Pefok a tough showdown with Ajax.
Matt Turner made his competitive debut for Arsenal in their road win in the Swiss capital while Henry Wingo and Ferencvaros overcame the odds to pull off a remarkable victory against their Turkish visitors.
USMNT and Arsenal keeper contender Matt Turner found out the opponents for his best chance at playing time before heading to Qatar, with two games against PSV and Richard Ledezma being one of the overall highlights of the Europa League group stage.
