By FRANCO PANIZO
If you saw Clint Dempsey score in Fulham's game against Wigan Athletic on Saturday, you didn't just see him hit a winner.
You saw him make history.
Dempsey's first-half strike in Fulham's 2-0 win versus Wigan gave him 36 league goals in his Premiership career, tying the U.S. international with retired striker Brian McBride for the most by an American in England's top division. Dempsey's future with the Cottagers may not be assured, but with nine games remaining before the winter transfer window opens, it's likely that Dempsey will make that title exclusively his.
Dempsey wasn't the only player to score this weekend. Sacha Kljestan netted for the first time in RSC Anderlecht's regular season, scoring the third goal in a 4-0 triumph over Lierse. Kljestan, who also had an assist in his 90-minute outing, and Anderlecht remained in first place of the Pro League table with the victory.
Atop their respective league's table for the past few weeks, Josh Gatt and Sean Cunningham became league champions in Norway after Molde FK clinched a first-place finish with a 2-2 draw against Stromsgodset. Neither of the two young Americans dressed for the game, but that probably didn't stop them from being in a festive mood, especially considering that they could play in the Champions League next season.
Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made 3 saves in Everton's 1-0 loss vs. Manchester United on Saturday.
- Marcus Hahnemann did not dress for Everton.
- Clint Dempsey started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in Fulham's 2-0 win vs. Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made 2 saves in Tottenham Hotspur's 3-1 win vs. Queens Park Rangers on Sunday.
- Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa's 2-2 draw vs. Sunderland on Saturday.
- Eric Lichaj did not dress for Aston Villa. He is recovering from a hip injury.
- Stuart Holden did not dress in Bolton Wanderers' 3-1 loss vs. Swansea City on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Zak Whitbread did not dress in Norwich City's 3-3 draw vs. Blackburn Rovers on Saturday. He is recovering from a hamstring injury.
Championship
- Jonathan Spector started and played 90 minutes in Birmingham City's 0-0 draw vs. Brighton on Saturday.
- Conor Doyle came off the bench and played 17 minutes in Derby County's 3-1 win vs. Portsmouth on Saturday.
- Robbie Findley came off the bench and played 17 minutes in Nottingham Forest's 1-0 loss vs. Hull City on Saturday.
League One
- Frank Simek did not dress in Carlisle United's 3-3 draw vs. Oldham Athletic on Saturday. He is recovering from a hip injury.
- Anton Peterlin started and played 90 minutes in Walsall's 2-0 loss vs. Milton Keynes Dons on Saturday.
- Mike Grella started and played 72 minutes in Brentford's 2-1 win vs. Chesterfield on Saturday.
SCOTLAND
- Maurice Edu started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Rangers' 2-1 win vs. Aberdeen on Saturday.
- Alejandro Bedoya did not dress for Rangers.
- Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes for Rangers.
- Dominic Cervi did not dress in Celtic's 0-0 draw vs. Hibernian on Saturday.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes Chievo Verona's 4-1 loss vs. Siena on Sunday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Jermaine Jones started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Schalke 04's 3-1 win vs. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Saturday.
- Steve Cherundolo did not dress in Hannover 96's 2-1 loss vs. Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday. He was serving a suspension.
- Timmy Chandler started and played 90 minutes in FC Nurnberg's 4-0 loss vs. Bayern Munich on Saturday.
- David Yelldell dressed but did not play in Bayer Leverkusen's 1-0 win vs. SC Freiburg on Friday.
- Alfredo Morales dressed but did not play in Hertha Berlin's 3-2 win vs. VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday.
- Fabian Johnson came off the bench and played 11 minutes in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's 3-1 loss vs. Schalke 04 on Saturday.
- Danny Williams started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
- Terrence Boyd did not dress in Borussia Dortmund's 1-1 draw vs. VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.
Bundesliga 2
- Ricardo Clark did not dress in Eintracht Frankfurt's 1-1 draw vs. FC Ingolstadt 04 on Sunday.
- Luis Robles started and played 90 minutes in Karlsruher SC's 5-1 loss vs. Dynamo Dresden on Saturday.
- Edson Buddle started and played 80 minutes in FC Ingolstadt 04's 1-1 draw vs. Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
- Bobby Wood came off the bench and played 9 minutes in TSV 1860 Munich's 3-0 win vs. MSV Duisburg on Sunday.
- Matt Taylor started and played 90 minutes in SC Paderborn 07's 1-0 win vs. FC Erzgebirge Aue on Saturday.
FRANCE
- Quentin Westberg did not dress in Evian Thonon Gaillard's 3-1 win vs. AJ Auxerre on Saturday.
NETHERLANDS
- Jozy Altid
ore started and played 81 minutes in AZ Alkmaar's 1-0 win vs. SC Heracles Almelo on Sunday.
PORTUGAL
- Oguchi Onyewu started and played 90 minutes in Sporting CP's 2-0 win vs. Feirense on Sunday.
RUSSIA
- Eugene Starikov started and played 57 minutes in FC Tom' Tomsk's 2-0 loss vs. Dinamo Moskva on Sunday.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan started, played 90 minutes, scored a GOAL and had an ASSIST in RSC Anderlecht's 4-0 win vs. Lierse on Sunday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6GzmM57Qc4?feature=player_embedded]
DENMARK
- Michael Parkhurst started and played 87 minutes in FC Nordsjaelland's 1-0 loss vs. Lyngby on Sunday.
- Chris Rolfe started, played 67 minutes and had an ASSIST in Aalborg BK's 1-1 draw vs. Brondby IF on Sunday.
- Clarence Goodson started and played 90 minutes in Brondby IF's 1-1 draw vs. Aalborg BK on Sunday.
- Brad Rusin started and played 90 minutes in HB Koge's 2-0 loss vs. AGF Aarhus on Sunday.
- Conor O'Brien and SonderjyskE play FC Midtjylland on Monday.
SWEDEN
- Ryan Miller and Halmstads BK's season is over.
- Samuel Petrone and Mjallby AIF's season is over.
NORWAY
- Mix Diskerud started and played 90 minutes in Stabaek IF's 0-0 draw vs. Sogndal on Sunday.
- Josh Gatt did not dress in Molde FK's 2-2 draw vs. Stromsgodset on Sunday. He is recovering from a hamstring injury.
- Sean Cunningham did not dress for Molde FK.
MEXICO
- Jose Torres did not dress in Pachuca's 4-0 win vs. Monterrey on Saturday. He is recovering from a foot injury.
- Herculez Gomez started and played 81 minutes in Estudiantes Tecos' 2-0 loss vs. Cruz Azul on Sunday.
- Edgar Castillo did not dress in Club America's 3-2 loss vs. Puebla on Sunday.
- Sonny Guadarrama came off the bench, played 45 minutes and set up a penalty kick in Atlante's 4-4 draw vs. Morelia on Saturday.
- Jonathan Bornstein dressed but did not play in Tigres UANL's 2-1 win vs. Santos Laguna on Saturday.
- DaMarcus Beasley started and played 90 minutes in Puebla's 3-2 win vs. Club America on Sunday.
- Adrian Ruelas did not dress in Jaguares de Chiapas' 4-0 win vs. Pumas UNAM on Saturday.
- Michael Orozco started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in San Luis' 0-0 draw vs. Club Tijuana on Sunday.
- Joe Corona did not dress in Club Tijuana's 0-0 draw vs. San Luis on Sunday.
COLOMBIA
- Diego Restrepo and America de Cali did not play this weekend.
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What do you think of these performances? When do you see Dempsey breaking McBride's record? Impressed by Kljestan's performance? How do you think the youngsters, Gatt and Cunningham, celebrated their team's championship?
Share your thoughts below.