GOAL reviews the major takeaways from Americans playing in Europe, headlined by several big moments involving USMNT stars
Now this? This was a good weekend for the U.S. men's national team stars. Playing in big games, multiple Americans stepped up to the moment in these final few weeks of the European season.
None stepped up more than Christian Pulisic, who scored a big goal to help lead Milan to victory. still have a long way to go and plenty more to play for, but Pulisic's goal felt important as it helped Milan maintain much-needed momentum.
There are bigger games for Chris Richards and Crystal Palace, too – well, one big game at least. Richards and Co. booked their place in the FA Cup final with a shocking beatdown of Aston Villa, earning themselves a date with Manchester City at Wembley. They'll certainly be underdogs again in that one, but anything can happen in a final.
Young stars provided assists and multiple layers helped their clubs take steps towards either safety, promotion or Europe. Two Americans, meanwhile, won a trophy, and you can never really overlook how cool those moments are. GOAL looks at the major takeaways from this weekend's Americans Abroad.
Getty Images SportRichards and Palace dreaming of FA Cup glory
The FA Cup has existed since 1871. Crystal Palace? Founded in 1905. At no point over these last 120 years has Palace lifted that legendary trophy. Might this be the year that changes?
Chris Richards will sure hope so as the American defender has played a massive part in giving the club this chance. With Richards helping marshal the defense, Palace crushed Aston Villa, 3-0, on Saturday to book their spot in the finale. Thousands of Palace fans marched on Wembley for Saturday's semi. In a few weeks time, they'll return for only the third FA Cup final in their club's history.
"I think something that we want to do is that we want to give back to the club, and not just the people in the club but the fans because they're an extension of us," Richards said. "Love like today makes us fight even harder, so we want to bring something back to South London and, hopefully, it'll be a big trophy."
The biggest challenge awaits. Their path to the finale has included just two Premier League teams. Awaiting them will be one of English soccer's best. Palace, though, have reason to believe and, as Richards said, dream of getting their hands on a big, big trophy.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportPulisic helps Milan build momentum
The hope was that the midweek win over Inter would be a momentum boost for Milan. They were into the Coppa Italia final and, with that on the horizon, the club had reason to believe. It took just five minutes for Christian Pulisic to give them another reason, as he has so often has this season.
Just moments into Sunday's clash with Venezia, Pulisic netted his 16th goal of the season and his first since March. It gave Milan a 1-0 lead they'd never relinquish, going on to win 2-0 to keep their slim Serie A hopes alive. A run to a European spot will be very difficult, but Pulisic continues to do heavy lifting with his best efforts to get them there.
The stats back that up. He now has 50 goal contributions over his two seasons at Milan, with room for more in the weeks to come. A Serie A climb will be tough given the teams they have to leapfrog but there are four games left in the Italian season. Most importantly, though, there's that Coppa Italia final against Bologna, the match that will ultimately make-or-break this campaign for Milan.
Getty Images SportMcKennie, Juventus survive to earn big win
It got dicey thanks to Kenan Yildiz's red card in first-half stoppage time, but Weston McKennie and Juventus got it done in the end.
The Old Lady were carried by two first half goals, one from Nicolas Gonzalez and one from Randall Kolo Muani, as they took down Monza, 2-0. That win came despite playing the second half down a man, forcing Juve into survival mode on home soil against Serie A's worst team. This win was always going to be assumed, but it wasn't as easy as it could have been. What matters, though, is that Juve found a way.
McKennie played his part, as he continues to be Juventus' Mr. Everything. He played at right-wingback in this one as he continues to fill in wherever this team needs him. Wherever he starts, McKennie is always solid, and he provided that in a game where Juve needed it on Sunday.
Tim Weah, meanwhile came on as a second-half sub, adding a bit of pace as Juve looked to counter. They didn't get that third breakthrough but they also didn't need it to win.
For now, they sit fourth in the league, although Bologna will have something to say about that with their game in hand. The race in Serie A is tight, and Juve will need to keep winning if they want Champions League soccer next season.
Getty Images SportChampionship race goes down to the wire
We already know that one American, Brenden Aaronson, is getting promoted with Leeds. Can another join him in the Premier League? This weekend only added to the uncertainty as several USMNT stars fight for their own potential promotion.
Haji Wright and Coventry City still occupy the final promotion playoff place, despite a 1-0 loss to Luton Town. Coventry conceded in the final minute, wasting a chance to give themselves breathing room in the fight for promotion. They'll have it all to play for heading into the final match of the 46 games on the Championship schedule.
So, too, will Aidan Morris and Middlesbrough, who wasted their own opportunity to rise. They settled for a 0-0 draw against Josh Sargent's Norwich, leaving them two points back of Coventry with two teams – Millwall and Blackburn Rovers – in between.
Unfortunately for Ethan Horvath and Cardiff City, it's now been confirmed they'll be on the other end of all of this. Due to their draw with West Brom, Cardiff have now been officially relegated and will be heading down into Ligue 1. They won't be able to save themselves in the final week as they now sit four points from safety with the draw.
It will all come down to the final week for Morris and Wright as they look to keep their Premier League dreams alive.
