Yunus Musah’s start against giants Real Madrid was a rough one, while Matthew Hoppe made his long-awaited return from injury for Mallorca, in a rough weekend for Americans in Spain that saw none on the winning side of things.
In yet another setback to what has been a difficult two months, USMNT star Sergiño Dest is amongst a trio of Barcelona players set to miss time due to a positive COVID test.
With Spain’s top two divisions in the midst of their short holiday break, YA takes a look into the up-and-down season for its small collection of Americans pursuing their careers on the Iberian peninsula.
USMNT starter Yunus Musah was on the scoreboard for Valencia in record time in to help them advance on the Copa del Rey, while Shaq Moore and Tenerife saw their run come to an end against a tough La Liga 2 promotion rival.
American players are no longer immune from the negative impacts of big, rich teams stockpiling young players with potential and continuously sending them out on loan.
Barcelona suffered a disappointing loss to visiting Betis in Sergiño Dest’s first start under new coach Xavi, while Yunus Musah only got a short drink of water for Valencia at the tail end of their win over Celta Vigo.
The matchups for mid-December’s second round proper of the Copa del Rey have been set, with Yunus Musah looking to repeat his recent man-of-the-match performance and several other Americans also liking their chances to go through.
A goal and assist by USMNT starter Yunus Musah pushed Valencia past Utrillas while Shaq Moore and Tenerife needed an overtime winner to move past their lower-league foes.
The matchups for the upcoming first round of Spain’s Copa del Rey was set on Thursday afternoon, giving all Americans participating in the opening matches straightforward paths to the later stage.
Sergiño Dest had mixed fortunes in Barcelona’s El Clásico loss to Real Madrid, while Matt Miazga and Alaves put on an impressive defensive road show to take all the points at Cadiz.
