Despite several USMNT stars being rested after playing and traveling over the September international break, it was a productive weekend for America’s soccer stars.
Pulisic, as usual this year, headlines the recap. He scored and assisted, and was awarded MOTM for Milan vs. Venezia. It’s been fascinating to see him emerge as a leader at Milan in his second season. Not THE leader, but A leader. 4 of Milan’s starting 11 weren’t there last year, so now instead of CP10 as the newest guy, he’s more established. It was evident in the way he took charge of the first PK and slotted home with confidence. Remember how dire things looked for him 2 years ago at Chelsea? All the #USMNT fans who think the sky is falling should remember that as they think about the quality of this team.
Elsewhere Jedi continues to kick ass, he was incredibly active against West Ham. Mark McKenzie has gotten off to a great start in Ligue 1 which is awesome, that’s a legit league with quality top to bottom so we’re hoping McKenzie can keep developing and push into the starting 11 with Poch.
We think Vazquez should be in the discussion for the #9 spot frankly, so we’re spotlighting his excellent form in Liga MX. And finally – Gianluca Busio was one of the only Venezia players who looked like they belong in Serie A, garnering the second highest player rating in a dismal 4-0 loss to AC Milan.
On the downside, we were disappointed to see McKennie not get any playing time for Juve after he skipped the USMNT’s September camp to train with new coach Thiago Motta. Feels like a slap in the face.
Scally had a bit of a rough outing. We think the ratings on him are actually harsh (we watched him v. Stuttgart) but we have to call it a negative that both the data and the fans said he was Monchengladbach’s worst player.
We’ll give an honorable mention – on the Good side – to Malik Tillman and to Cameron Carter-Vickers. CCV in particular as he was rated one of the best in Scotland this weekend.
All this though, was but an appetizer for the delicious main course coming up this week. Champions League kicks off on Tuesday – with multiple high-profile games featuring USMNT stars. We can’t wait!!
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10.4 – Weekend Recap
The last match window before the USMNT all gather in Austin for Pochettino’s first camp was action packed.
Pulisic scored, and was Milan’s best player, again! It’s almost every game this year he’s been either the best player by the data or as voted by fans. …But we get some bad vibes from his teammates twice stripping him of the PK responsibility against the coach’s orders. Theo Hernandez and Tammy Abraham both had their PKs saved by David de Gea – so they probably should have let Pulisic, who is 10/10 in his career, take them.
September 2024 “team of the month”
This is basically how the USMNT would line up in our first matches under Pochettino – if he made his decisions based ONLY on current club form. He obviously won’t do that – but it’s a cool way to look at who is playing well, and who isn’t, for the USMNT.
10.4 – Weekend preview
Best matches of the weekend, brought to you by #DosACero. This is the final match window before the guys head to #Austin for the FIRST CAMP WITH POCHETTINO. Here’s hoping for a strong set of performances, with everyone coming in hot. LFG!