By FRANCO PANIZO
Brad Guzan may be known for his ability to make key saves, but this week a big part of the discussion will be about his timely assist.
Guzan helped Aston Villa shock Manchester City’s star-studded side on Saturday with a goal kick that wound up setting up a wild game-winner in a 3-2 come-from-behind victory for the Villans. Two minutes after Aston Villa tied the game and seconds after City looked to threaten his goal, Guzan kicked the ball upfield before it took a fortuitous bounce that sprung Andreas Weimann for the unlikeliest of goals. Guzan also contributed to the Villans’ cause with five saves.
Sacha Kljestan was another player to help set up a game-winning goal. Kljestan had the helper in RSC Anderlecht’s first goal in a 2-0 victory over Lierse SK on Sunday, a victory that saw Anderlecht bounce back from their 4-0 defeat last weekend. Kljestan started and went the distance in the home game.
Aron Johannsson also made an impact for his club and he did so with yet another goal. Johannsson netted for the fifth time in league play and tenth across all competitions on Saturday, hitting a splendid strike to lift AZ Alkmaar to a surprising 2-1 win over PSV Eindhoven and continue his torrid start to the season. Still, the victory was not enough for head coach Gertjan Verbeek to avoid getting fired on Sunday due to a “lack of chemistry” between he and the players.
Here is how the Americans Abroad fared this weekend:
Premiership
- Tim Howard and Everton play Newcastle United on Monday.
- Geoff Cameron started and played 90 minutes in Stoke City’s 1-0 loss vs. Norwich City on Sunday.
- Maurice Edu did not dress for Stoke City.
- Brek Shea did not dress for Stoke City.
- Brad Guzan started, played 90 minutes, made five saves and had an ASSIST in Aston Villa’s 3-2 win vs. Manchester City on Saturday.
- Brad Friedel dressed but did not play in Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-1 draw vs. Chelsea on Saturday.
Championship
- Jonathan Spector started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Birmingham City’s 2-0 loss vs. Reading on Saturday.
- Will Packwood did not dress for Birmingham City. He is recovering from a leg injury.
- Tim Ream started and played 90 minutes in Bolton Wanderers’ 1-1 draw vs. Yeovil Town on Saturday.
- Stuart Holden did not dress for Bolton Wanderers. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Zak Whitbread did not dress in Leicester City’s 2-1 win vs. Barnsley on Saturday.
- Eric Lichaj started and played 90 minutes in Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 win vs. Derby County on Saturday.
- Danny Williams did not dress in Reading’s 2-0 win vs. Birmingham City on Saturday. He is recovering from a foot injury.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley did not dress in AS Roma’s 5-0 win vs. Bologna on Sunday. He is recovering from an ankle injury.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Fabian Johnson started and played 70 minutes in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s 3-3 draw vs. Schalke 04 on Saturday.
- Joe Gyau did not dress for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
- Timmy Chandler started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in FC Nurnberg’s 3-3 draw vs. Werder Bremen on Sunday.
- Michael Parkhurst did not dress in FC Augsburg’s 2-2 draw vs. Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday.
- Jermaine Jones started and played 86 minutes in Schalke 04’s 3-3 draw vs. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Saturday.
- Steve Cherundolo did not dress in Hannover 96′s 2-0 loss vs. Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- John Brooks did not dress in Hertha Berlin’s 3-1 win vs. Mainz on Sunday. He is recovering from an elbow injury.
2. Bundesliga
- Alfredo Morales came off the bench and played 52 minutes in FC Ingolstadt 04’s 2-1 loss vs. St Pauli on Sunday.
- Andrew Wooten did not dress in Kaiserslautern’s 3-0 win vs. TSV 1860 Munich on Sunday.
- Bobby Wood did not dress in TSV 1860 Munich’s 3-0 loss vs. Kaiserslautern on Sunday.
FRANCE
- Alejandro Bedoya came off the bench and played 66 minutes in FC Nantes’ 3-1 win vs. Stade Rennes on Sunday.
NETHERLANDS
- Aron Johannsson started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in AZ Alkmaar’s 2-1 win vs. PSV Eindhoven on Saturday.
RUSSIA
- Eugene Starikov and FK Tom’ Tomsk play Lokomotiv Moscow on Monday.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan started, played 90 minutes and had an ASSIST in RSC Anderlecht’s 2-0 win vs. Lierse SK on Sunday. You can watch the assist here.
DENMARK
AUSTRIA
- Terrence Boyd started and played 90 minutes in Rapid Vienna’s 4-2 loss vs. Wolfsberger AC on Saturday.
SWEDEN
- Brian Span did not dress in Djurgarden IF’s 4-1 win vs. Halmstad on Sunday.
NORWAY
- Mix Diskerud did not dress in Rosenborg BK’s 2-1 win vs. Sarpsborg 08 on Sunday.
- Josh Gatt did not dress in Molde FK’s 1-1 draw vs. Haugesund on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Ethan Horvath dressed but did not play for Molde FK.
- Ben Spencer did not dress for Molde FK .
- Steve Clark started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Honefoss BK’s 2-2 draw vs. Viking on Saturday.
MEXICO
- Michael Orozco started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Puebla’s 2-0 win vs. Club Tijuana on Sunday.
- DaMarcus Beasley started and played 90 minutes for Puebla.
- Jose Torres started and played 45 minutes in Tigres UANL’s 2-2 draw vs. Queretaro on Friday.
- Jonathan Bornstein did not dress for Tigres UANL.
- Edgar Castillo started and played 90 minutes in Club Tijuana’s 2-0 loss vs. Puebla on Sunday.
- Joe Corona started and played 45 minutes for Club Tijuana.
- Paul Arriola came off the bench and played 45 minutes for Club Tijuana.
- Herculez Gomez came off the bench and played 31 minutes for Club Tijuana.
- Greg Garza did not dress for Club Tijuana.
- Joaquin Alonso Hernandez did not dress in Monterrey’s 1-0 loss vs. Pumas UNAM on Saturday.
BRAZIL
- Freddy Adu did not dress in Bahia’s 0-0 draw vs. CR Vasco da Gama on Sunday.
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What do you think of these performances? Did you expect Guzan to do this well during the early parts of the season? How do you see Johannsson and AZ faring without Verbeek?
Share your thoughts below.