GOAL reviews the major takeaways from Americans playing in Europe, including multiple USMNT stars celebrating trophy wins
There has been much at stake in these final few weeks of the European season. And this weekend, it was all about trophies.
U.S. men's national team stars Chris Richards and Matt Turner finally got their hands on one, lifting the FA Cup with Crystal Palace at Wembley after a huge upset over Manchester City on Saturday. In the Netherlands, PSV's four Americans celebrated with the Eredivisie crown, completing a stunning comeback to narrowly win the league Sunday over previously-favored Ajax.
They join Brenden Aaronson, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty as league-winners, as the latter duo celebrated their previously clinched triumph with Celtic this weekend.
Elsewhere, all eyes were on Serie A as the race for Europe heats up. Weston McKennie, Tim Weah and Juventus are doing just fine with Sunday's result, but Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah and AC Milan? Not so much.
The USMNT will hope more celebrations are on the horizon – including the Gold Cup – as multiple players end this club season on a high.
"Let's win a trophy this summer with the national team, and next season we have some big competitions to plan, so hopefully we can continue this streak of a trophy a season," Richards told ESPN after the FA Cup triumph. "I think it's a really ambitious team I think the [manager] that came in and we saw this from day one that he's very ambitious. And we saw that today again with the win, so it was amazing."
GOAL looks at the major takeaways from this weekend's Americans Abroad.
AFPRichards and Crystal Palace make history
The celebrations were special. Crystal Palace, against all odds, won the FA Cup, lifting a major trophy for the first time in the club's century-long history. They held on against mighty Manchester City – and it's impossible to overstate just how key Chris Richards was in pulling it off.
The game, in truth, was one-way traffic. Man City had 2.23 expected goals to Palace's 74. City completed 618 passes. Palace? Just 127. Pep Guardiola's side may have had 16 more shots but, in the end, they had one fewer goal.
Dean Henderson won Man of the Match in goal, and rightfully so, but Richards' performance was immense. He helped break the press on Eberechi Eze's match-winning goal. The American provided 11 clearances, four blocks and six headed clearances. He won five of his seven duels, helping Palace win back the ball as City bore down upon them.
Palace's defense won them the trophy, and Richards certainly did the heavy lifting.
"I think if you told us this at the beginning of season, they wouldn't have believed it," Richards said. "But it was just a lot of dedication, a lot of hard work, a lot of long days at the training ground."
It's worth shouting out Matt Turner here, too, as he also received a medal for the win. The USMNT goalkeeper was replaced by Henderson in the final matches of the competition, but he did get rare starts early on. He was nowhere near as vital as Richards, but both now join an exclusive club of Americans to have won this trophy.
Richards, Turner and Tim Howard – those are the only U.S. men's national team stars to have claimed the FA Cup. Crystal Palace surely had to earn it, too, as they put together a legendary performance at Wembley to make history.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesTillman leads PSV to league title
A month ago, a PSV trophy lift seemed impossible. Turns out it wasn't. With a lot of help from Ajax's late-season collapse, PSV got their hands on that trophy on Sunday – and so did multiple USMNT stars.
Malik Tillman played a big part in the title-clincher, a 3-1 win over Sparta Rotterdam. The midfielder scored PSV's final goal, ending the season on a high as he heads into a crucial summer. He wasn't the only American involved, though, as Sergino Dest also played his part as a weapon on that right-hand side. Despite not featuring on Sunday, Richy Ledezma and Ricard Pepi will get their medals, too, having both played key roles in this league title.
Getting there wasn't easy and it certainly wasn't nearly as straight-forward as last season. It required a perfect run down the home stretch and, more importantly, several poor results from Aajx. PSV seized their chance.
There are obvious questions about what comes next. Can PSV keep Tillman? What do they do with Pepi when he returns? What can we expect from a healthy Dest next season? Will Ledezma reclaim a role or will he move on?
Those questions can be answered later, though. This weekend was about celebrating.
Getty Images SportPulisic and Milan undone by Gimenez red card
There's never a good time to earn a red card, but some are worse than others. On Sunday, Mexican international Santi Gimenez was sent off at the worst possible moment, and Milan's season is over because of it.
After conceding just three minutes in, Milan went down a man in the 21st minute when Gimenez earned his marching orders. He was handed a red card for an elbow, and that one swing of his arm doomed any hopes Milan had of a end-of-season comeback.
Joao Felix scored just before halftime to level the scoreline and, more importantly, give Milan hope. That was as good as it got, though, as Leandro Paredes' free kick and a late Bryan Crisante dagger buried Milan to a 3-1 loss to Roma.
Both Americans started for Milan, and both were powerless as they fought with 10 men. Pulisic defended more than anyone, making the most tackles of any player in the match. He had few chances to really attack, though, due to the man disadvantage and, when he did, Roma generally handled him well. Musah was back in the starting XI, but, despite an incredible passing percentage, couldn't compensate for the disadvantage.
With the loss, Milan's European dreams are over. They're five points out with one game remaining. This season was, by any measure, a failure. Sunday was their last chance – of many to be fair – and, thanks to Gimenez's red, Milan squandered it.
Getty Images SportMcKennie, Juventus pull out much-needed win
Juventus are walking a tight rope towards a Champions League spot. They just barely stayed on it on Sunday, keeping their fate in their own hands heading into the season's final game.
Thanks to a Nicolas Gonzalez goal, Juventus took down Udinese, 2-0, in their penultimate Serie A match. Level at halftime, second-half goals from Nico Gonzalez and Dusan Vlahovic sealed the win, with Kenan Yildiz assisting both. The win keeps them in fourth place with a one-point lead on Roma heading into the final week.
McKennie as immense in the Juve midfield until he left with an apparent injury in the 81st minute. That injury will be a concern if it is serious, particularly after such a big performance from the American. He created three chances, won four aerial duels and routinely drove Juve forward, setting a tone all the way through to the win.
All eyes will be on next weekend's clash with Venezia, who feature another American midfielder, Gianluca Busio. Venezia will need to win to stay in Serie A. Juventus will need to win to make the Champions League.