U(S)EFA Champions League Week 🇺🇸🇪🇺

"Christian is unquestionable in terms of talent, as well as his character and tactical ability. Tim Weah is everybody’s friend. McKennie is the funniest. And then there’s Musah, the bright light, everyone feels his warmth."

—Gregg Berhalter, when asked how the four USMNT players in Serie A are getting along in Italy.

Pulisic Sacrificed in Serie A Bowl I:

AC Milan hosted Juventus in the first-ever Serie A Bowl on Sunday, this year’s installment of the storied Italian rivalry achieving “Bowl” status thanks to two Americans featuring as starters for each club — Yunus Musah and Christian Pulisic for Milan, Weston McKennie and Tim Weah for Juventus. A historic day for U.S. Soccer, to be sure, one that even saw Gregg Berhalter make the trip to the San Siro. “It’s a special day for U.S. Soccer,” said the USMNT coach before the match. "To think about these two traditional clubs, and now to have four American players ... We’ve come a long way.”

Unfortunately, all four of the USMNT players did not make it a long way through the match itself, as a 43rd-minute red card on Milan center back Malick Thiaw led to Pulisic being strategically subbed off to make way for a defender.

The disappointment of Puli’s early exit aside, the three remaining Americans were heavily involved in the remainder of the match, eventually decided by a Manuel Locatelli long-range goal, with Timmy Weah himself getting the assist in the 1-0 Juventus win (WATCH).

After the match, Milan coach Stefano Pioli explained why he chose to sacrifice a forward, Pulisic, for a defender. “I removed an attacker to maintain the same defensive structure that we had prepared during the week,” he explained. “We believed that the contribution of the midfielders like Musah and Tijjani Reijnders, or Giroud holding up the ball for Leao, could allow us to continue being dangerous in attack.”

At least an American still factored into Pioli’s thinking. Despite him removing the most potent one of all.

WATCH: James Horncastle talks to Rog about the Americans at AC Milan and Juventus

U(S)EFA Champions League:

Plenty of midweek European action this week, as the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League all resume play. Meaning plenty of Americans are back in action as well. Which is a wonderful thing. Never, ever tire of these moments.

In Tuesday’s Champions League action, Malik Tillman had an assist in PSV’s 1-1 draw at Lens (WATCH). Sergino Dest also started for the Dutch side, and Ricardo Pepi was a late sub … Brenden Aaronson got his first Champions League start of the season in Union Berlin’s tough 1-0 loss to Napoli on Tuesday. The Iron are now winless in their last eight matches in all competitions. Hopefully better days ahead for the supporter-owned club.

Wednesday sees Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah and AC Milan pay a visit to PSG; Gio Reyna and Dortmund are off to Northern England to face Newcastle; while Brodge, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Celtic (Gucci Belt bylaws require that Rodgers always gets first mention, thanks) welcome Atletico Madrid to Celtic Park on Wednesday.

Trusty Worthy of Start Against Man Utd:

Auston Trusty made his second straight start for Sheffield United, this one coming in a hard-fought 2-1 defeat to Manchester United on Saturday. The 25-year-old from Media, Pa. accounted well for himself on the day — from getting all up in Marcus Rashford’s grill on a throw-in (it was worth the yellow) to a terrific tackle in the 89th minute when he should have been absolutely gassed, Trusty was an assertive, steady presence in the backline for the Blades. Now it’s just a matter of Paul Heckingbottom’s team getting some results, as Sheffield sit 20th in the Premier League table, with just one point from their first nine matches.

The Great Horan a Great Scorer of Goals:

Lindsey Horan 🇫🇷 strikes again. The 29-year-old from Golden, Colo. worked the give-and-go to perfection in putting one past Reims on Sunday (WATCH). It was Horan’s fourth goal in her last two games. Lyon, meanwhile, have gotten off to a start that would make Pep jalouse. The French leaders have won their first five matches this season, scoring 20 while conceding just once.

News and Notes:

• Alex Zendejas 🇲🇽 scored one for top-of-the-table Club America in their 4-3 win over Santos Laguna Saturday. And it was a beauty. Definitely worth a look. (WATCH)

• Reggie Cannon 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 made his first start for QPR, playing the full match at right back in the R’s 2-0 loss at West Brom on Tuesday.

• Mark McKenzie 🇧🇪 had an assist for Genk in their 4-0 win over KV Mechelen on Sunday. (WATCH)

• D.C. United product Griffin Yow 🇧🇪 scored in his debut appearance for Westerlo in their 1-1 draw with Molenbeek on Saturday. (WATCH)

• Alan Sonora 🇦🇷 scored for Huracan in their 3-1 loss to Instituto on Friday. The goal was his first for the club since joining in September. (WATCH)

• Marlon Fossey 🇧🇪 had an assist for Standard Liege in their 3-2 win over Anderlecht. Serious scenes at Stade Maurice Dufrasne after the ball hit the back of the net. (WATCH)

• Welcome back Taylor Booth 🇳🇱! The 22-year-old from Eden, Utah started for Utrecht in their 4-3 win over Ajax on Sunday, his first appearance for the Dutch side since August 12.

• And welcome back Rokas Pukstas 🇭🇷! The Stillwater, Okla. teen (19) made his return for Hajduk Split in their 2-0 loss to Osijek, his first appearance since July 30.

• 🚨 Late Breaking Transfer News! 🚨 Relevo is reporting that Internacional have agreed to a transfer fee with Real Betis for Johnny Cardoso 🇧🇷, who will complete the move to La Liga in the summer.

Parting Shots:

In last week’s Parting Shots, Rog paid tribute to Michael Bradley, who announced his retirement from professional football last Tuesday. One week on, it now appears that the younger Bradley’s retirement lasted all of maybe 48 hours. Shortly after stepping down as a player, Michael announced that he would be joining his father’s coaching staff at Stabaek in Norway, which gave the club socials an opportunity to produce this excellent video of Michael traveling from the U.S. all the way to the suburbs of Oslo to join his dad. From the opening hug, to Bob on FaceTime, to Michael getting his coaching swag, it’s a quite human video that is very much worth a watch. And makes one want to pull for De Blaa even more. 💙

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