It took just two minutes for Club Leon to find itself in a hole, but Miguel Ibarra made sure his club did not stay in there for long.
Ibarra scored his first Liga MX goal on Saturday to help Leon erase an early deficit and pick up a 2-1 comeback win at home vs. Atlas. Ibarra found the back of the net in the eighth minute, beautifully curling a low shot into the far right corner to negate Daniel Alvarez’s free kick and open the door for a winner 10 minutes later. Leon went down to 10 men at the half-hour mark, but Ibarra contributed through his 78-minute shift to aid in his team’s effort to pick up three points and move closer to first-placed Pumas.
Fabian Johnson did not score a goal this weekend, but he did set one up. Borussia Moenchengladbach went on the road and routed Hertha Berlin, 4-1, on Saturday, and it was Johnson’s assist on the opener that helped set the tone. Johnson fed Oscar Wendt in the 26th minute, and Moenchengladbach rattled off two more goals through 54 minutes to cruise to victory. Johnson went the distance in the match as a left midfielder while John Brooks was an unused substitute for Hertha Berlin.
Two other players, both based in Norway, had helpers for their respective clubs. Zarek Valentin assisted on FK Bodo/Glimt’s opener vs. Tromso on Sunday, but they relinquished the lead and suffered a 3-1 defeat. Cole Grossman also created the opener for Stabaek on Sunday, and they came out on top by edging IK Start, 3-2.
Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes, and made seven saves in Everton’s 6-2 win vs. Sunderland on Sunday.
- Brad Guzan and Aston Villa play Tottenham Hotspur on Monday.
- Geoff Cameron did not dress in Stoke City’s 0-0 draw vs. Newcastle United on Saturday.
- DeAndre Yedlin started and played 64 minutes in Sunderland’s 6-2 loss vs. Everton on Sunday.
- Lynden Gooch did not dress for Sunderland.
Championship
- Jonathan Spector dressed but did not play in Birmingham City’s 2-0 loss vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
- Eric Lichaj dressed but did not play in Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 loss vs. Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
- Danny Williams started and played 90 minutes in Reading’s 1-1 draw vs. Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
- Andrija Novakovich did not dress for Reading.
- Tim Ream started and played 90 minutes in Fulham’s 4-1 win vs. Bristol City on Saturday.
- Emerson Hyndman did not dress for Fulham.
- Cody Cropper dressed but did not play in Milton Keynes Dons’ 2-0 loss vs. Hull City on Saturday.
SCOTLAND
- Gedion Zelalem came off the bench and played 32 minutes in Rangers’ 2-1 loss vs. Hibernian on Sunday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- John Brooks dressed but did not play in Hertha Berlin’s 4-1 loss vs. Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday.
- Fabian Johnson started, played 90 minutes, received a yellow card, and had an ASSIST in Borussia Moenchengladbach’s 4-1 win vs. Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
- Timmy Chandler did not dress in Eintracht Frankfurt’s 0-0 draw vs. Bayern Munich on Friday.
- Aron Johannsson did not dress in Werder Bremen’s 3-1 loss vs. Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. He is recovering from a hip injury.
- Alfredo Morales came off the bench and played 11 minutes in FC Ingolstadt 04’s 1-1 draw vs. Schalke 04 on Saturday.
2. Bundesliga
- Terrence Boyd did not dress in RB Leipzig’s 2-1 win vs. SV Sandhausen on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Bobby Wood started and played 74 minutes in FC Union Berlin’s 2-0 win vs. Heidenheimer SB on Saturday.
- Andrew Wooten came off the bench and played 22 minutes in SV Sandhausen’s 2-1 loss vs. RB Leipzig on Sunday.
- Caleb Stanko dressed but did not play in SC Freiburg’s 2-2 draw vs. TSV Eintracht Braunschweig on Sunday.
- Shawn Barry started and played 90 minutes in FSV Frankfurt’s 1-1 draw vs. SC Paderborn 07 on Sunday.
FRANCE
- Alejandro Bedoya did not dress in FC Nantes’ 1-0 loss vs. Marseille on Saturday.
NETHERLANDS
- Rubio Rubin did not dress in FC Utrecht’s 4-2 win vs. FC Twente on Sunday.
- Desevio Payne came off the bench and played 26 minutes in FC Groningen’s 2-0 win vs. PEC Zwolle on Saturday.
NORWAY
- Zarek Valentin started, played 90 minutes, and had an ASSIST in FK Bodo/Glimt’s 3-1 loss vs. Tromso on Sunday.
- Danny Cruz came off the bench and played five minutes for FK Bodo/Glimt.
- Cole Grossman started, played 90 minutes, and had an ASSIST in Stabaek IF’s 3-2 win vs. IK Start on Sunday.
- Ethan Horvath started and played 90 minutes in Molde FK’s 4-1 win vs. Viking FK on Sunday.
- A.J. Soares started and played 90 minutes in Viking FK’s 4-1 loss vs. Molde FK on Sunday.
- Erik Hurtado started and played 58 minutes in Mjondalen IF’s 2-1 loss vs. Aalesund on Sunday.
- Rhett Bernstein did not dress for Mjondalen IF.
MEXICO
- Michael Orozco started and played 62 minutes in Club Tijuana’s 2-1 loss vs. Pumas UNAM on Friday.
- Paul Arriola did not dress for Club Tijuana.
- Alejandro Guido did not dress for Club Tijuana.
- Joe Corona dressed but did not play in Veracruz’s 1-1 draw vs. Cruz Azul on Saturday.
- Greg Garza did not dress in Atlas’ 2-1 loss vs. Club Leon on Saturday. He is recovering from an injury.
- Jose Torres came off the bench and played seven minutes in Tigres UANL’s 2-2 draw vs. Santos Laguna on Saturday.
- Edgar Castillo started and played 90 minutes in Monterrey’s 3-1 loss vs. Queretaro on Friday.
- Ventura Alvarado did not dress in Club America’s 3-2 win vs. Toluca on Sunday.
- Jonathan Bornstein started and played 90 minutes in in Queretaro’s 3-1 win vs. Monterrey on Friday.
- Gabriel Farfan did not dress in Jaguares de Chiapas’ 1-0 win vs. Puebla on Saturday.
- Miguel Ibarra started, played 78 minutes, received a yellow card, and scored a GOAL in Club Leon’s 2-1 win vs. Atlas on Saturday.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRILMSicFbo&w=600&h=350]
- William Yarbrough dressed but did not play for Club Leon.
—–
What do you think of these performances? Is Ibarra in store for more starts at Club Leon in the coming weeks? How impressed are you with Johnson’s performances for Moenchengladbach this season?
Share your thoughts below.
I wonder how many of these guys would be better off PLAYING each week in MLS. Zelalem would be a better player if he were plugged into a play-making role for DCU week in and week out.
Jose Torres, Greg Garza, Joe Benny and etc. would be better off playing in 90 minute affairs each week.
Garza was a regular starter until his injury. not really fair to group him in. as for Zelalem, that is debatable. the main reason Arsenal sent him there was the coach. they wanted him to train under Mark Warburton who is very well respected. as a DCU fan, i’d love to see him here, but even if the level is below MLS, sometimes other things come into play.
Our MNT needs more Americans playing abroad… period…
Why don’t you ever comment on Bjorn Maars Johnsen? He’s been on a scoring frenzy.
Yuck