photo by Tony Quinn/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
On a weekend where there were few positives to take away, Sacha Kljestan returned to RSC Anderlecht's starting lineup as the club won big to take over first place in the Jupiler Pro League.
Kljestan started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Anderlecht's 4-1 victory over last place Royal Charleroi SC. The win raised Anderlecht to the top of the table with 37 points, one more than Genk, who lost on Friday.
Hannover 96 didn't grab first place in the Bundesliga, but it did keep within striking distance of a Champions League spot with a 3-0 win over SC Freiburg. Steve Cherundolo returned to the starting eleven after serving a one-game suspension and DaMarcus Beasley came off the bench for a six-minute cameo for Hannover.
Clint Dempsey was the lone American Abroad to score this weekend. Dempsey netted his fifth goal of the Premiership season by heading home the equalizer in Fulham's 1-1 draw with Birmingham. Dempsey is on pace to outdo his personal best of seven goals in a season.
Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
England
PREMIERSHIP
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made two saves in Everton's 4-1 loss vs. West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
- Clint Dempsey started, played 90 minutes, received a yellow card and a scored a GOAL in Fulham's 1-1 draw vs. Birmingham on Saturday.
- Eddie Johnson came off the bench and played 17 minutes for Fulham.
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made three saves in Aston Villa's 4-2 loss vs. Arsenal on Saturday.
- Brad Guzan dressed but did not play for Aston Villa.
- Eric Lichaj dressed but did not play for Aston Villa.
- Marcus Hahnemann dressed but did not play in Wolverhampton Wanderers' 3-2 win vs. Sunderland on Saturday.
- Jonathan Spector did not dress in West Ham United's 3-1 win vs. Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
- Stuart Holden did not dress in Bolton Wanderers' 2-2 draw vs. Blackpool on Saturday. He was recovering from a thigh injury.
CHAMPIONSHIP
- Conor Doyle dressed but did not play in Derby County's 2-1 loss vs. Burnley on Saturday.
- Zak Whitbread did not dress in Norwich City's 4-1 win vs. Ipswich Town on Sunday. He is recovering from a calf injury.
LEAGUE ONE
- Frank Simek started and played 90 minutes in Carlisle United's 3-2 win vs. Tamworth in the second round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Mike Grella did not dress for Carlisle United.
- Anton Peterlin and Plymouth Argyle did not play this weekend.
- Jemal Johnson and Milton Keynes Dons did not play this weekend.
Scotland
- Maurice Edu and Rangers' game vs. Dundee United was postponed because of a frozen pitch.
- Dominic Cervi did not dress in Celtic's 2-2 draw vs. Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday.
Spain
- Jozy Altidore dressed but did not play in Villarreal's 3-0 win vs. Real Zaragoza on Saturday.
Italy
- Oguchi Onyewu did not dress in AC Milan's 1-1 draw vs. Sampdoria on Saturday.
Germany
BUNDESLIGA
- Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes in Hannover 96's 3-0 win vs. SC Freiburg on Saturday.
- DaMarcus Beasley came off the bench and played 6 minutes for Hannover 96.
- Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in Borussia Moenchengladbach's 4-1 loss vs. Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
- Jermaine Jones started, played 45 minutes and received a yellow card in Schalke 04's 5-0 loss vs. Kaiserslautern on Saturday.
- Ricardo Clark dressed but did not play in Eintracht Frankfurt's 4-1 loss vs. Bayern Munich on Saturday.
- Daniel Williams dressed but did not play in SC Freiburg's 3-0 loss vs. Hannover 96 on Saturday.
BUNDESLIGA 2
- Kenny Cooper and TSV 1860 Munich play SpVgg Greuther Furth on Monday.
- David Yeldell started, played 90 minutes and made one save in MSV Duisburg's 2-0 win vs. Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
- Luis Robles started, played 90 minutes and made one save in Karlsruhe's 4-0 win vs. RW Oberhausen on Sunday.
- Amaechi Igwe did not dress in FC Ingolstadt 04's 1-0 win vs. FC Union Berlin on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
France
LIGUE 1
- Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes in St Etienne's 1-1 draw vs. AS Nancy Lorraine on Saturday.
- Charlie Davies did not dress in Sochaux's 3-0 win vs. Caen on Sunday.
LIGUE 2
- Quentin Westberg dressed but did not play in Evian Thonon Gaillard's 2-0 win vs. Grenoble on Friday.
Belgium
- Sacha Kljestan started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in RSC Anderlecht's 4-1 win vs. Royal Charleroi SC on Saturday.
Denmark
SUPERLIGA
- Michael Parkhurst started and played 90 minutes in FC Nordsjaelland's 1-1 draw vs. Sonderjyske on Sunday.
- Marcus Tracy and Aalborg BK play AC Horsens on Monday.
- Chris Rolfe and Aalborg BK play AC Horsens on Monday.
————–
What do you think of these performances? Do you see Kljestan staying in Anderlecht's starting eleven for the foreseeable future? In what position will Hannover, Cherundolo and Beasley finish the season? How many goals do you see Dempsey scoring this season?
Share your thoughts below.