By FRANCO PANIZO
Sacha Kljestan is making a real good argument for why he might be the most in-form American playing right now.
Kljestan scored a goal in a third consecutive game for RSC Anderlecht on Saturday, netting the opener in a 3-1 home win over OH Leuven. Kljestan benefited from a deflection on his shot in the 43rd minute, but he made the chance by alertly pouncing on a turnover deep in Leuven’s half. The goal raised Kljestan’s season total to seven in 13 Pro League matches, and made him the team’s leading scorer this season.
Jermaine Jones also found a way to make an impact for his club, and he did so in a mere 10-minute cameo. Coming off the bench in the 80th minute of Schalke 04’s clash with Hertha Berlin on Saturday, Jones helped set up an insurance goal deep into stoppage time to gives the Royal Blues a 2-0 victory. Schalke now sit in sixth place in the Bundesliga with 17 points from 11 games.
For Michael Bradley, this weekend marked his return to AS Roma’s starting lineup. Bradley made his first start for the Serie A league leaders in Sunday’s duel with Torino, and the veteran went the distance despite receiving a yellow card early in the second half. Unfortunately for Bradley and Roma, the match ended in a 1-1 draw that snapped their perfect 10-game winning streak.
Here is how the Americans Abroad fared this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes, made six saves and received a yellow card in Everton’s 0-0 draw vs. Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
- Jozy Altidore started and played 45 minutes in Sunderland’s 1-0 loss vs. Hull City on Saturday.
- Geoff Cameron started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Stoke City’s 1-1 draw vs. Southampton on Saturday.
- Maurice Edu did not dress for Stoke City.
- Brek Shea did not dress for Stoke City.
- Brad Guzan started, played 90 minutes and made four saves in Aston Villa’s 0-0 draw vs. West Ham United on Saturday.
- Brad Friedel dressed but did not play in Tottenham Hotspur’s 0-0 draw vs. Everton on Sunday.
Championship
- Jonathan Spector did not dress in Birmingham City’s 1-0 loss vs. Charlton Athletic on Saturday. He is recovering from a thigh injury.
- Tim Ream started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Bolton Wanderers’ 2-0 win vs. AFC Bournemouth on Saturday.
- Stuart Holden did not dress for Bolton Wanderers. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Zak Whitbread did not dress in Derby County’s 2-1 loss vs. Queens Park Rangers on Saturday. He is recovering from an injury.
- Eric Lichaj started and played 90 minutes in Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 loss vs. Blackpool on Saturday.
- Danny Williams did not dress in Reading’s 5-2 loss vs. Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday. He is recovering from a foot injury.
- Oguchi Onyewu dressed but did not play in Queens Park Rangers’ 2-1 win vs. Derby County on Saturday.
- Duane Holmes dressed but did not play in Huddersfield Town’s 2-1 loss vs. Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in AS Roma’s 1-1 draw vs. Torino on Sunday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Fabian Johnson did not dress in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s 2-1 loss vs. Bayern Munich on Saturday. He is recovering from an ankle injury.
- Joe Gyau did not dress for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
- Timmy Chandler started and played 90 minutes in FC Nurnberg’s 3-0 loss vs. SC Freiburg on Saturday.
- Michael Parkhurst did not dress in FC Augsburg’s 2-1 win vs. Mainz 05 on Saturday.
- Jermaine Jones came off the bench, played 10 minutes and helped set up a goal in Schalke 04’s 2-0 win vs. Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAHucEQu8WU?feature=player_embedded]
- Steve Cherundolo did not dress in Hannover 96′s 3-2 loss vs. Werder Bremen on Sunday.
- John Brooks did not dress in Hertha Berlin’s 2-0 loss vs. Schalke 04 on Saturday.
2. Bundesliga
- Alfredo Morales started and played 90 minutes in FC Ingolstadt 04’s 1-1 draw vs. SC Paderborn 07 on Friday.
- Andrew Wooten did not dress in Kaiserslautern’s 4-1 win vs. St Pauli on Saturday.
- Bobby Wood dressed but did not play in TSV 1860 Munich’s 3-1 loss vs. Dynamo Dresden on Sunday.
FRANCE
- Alejandro Bedoya started and played 90 minutes in FC Nantes’ 1-1 draw vs. Montpellier on Sunday.
NETHERLANDS
- Aron Johannsson started and played 90 minutes in AZ Alkmaar’s 2-0 win vs. ADO Den Haag on Saturday.
RUSSIA
- Eugene Starikov did not dress in FK Tom’ Tomsk’s 1-0 loss vs. Dinamo Moscow on Saturday.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan started, played 66 minutes and scored a GOAL in RSC Anderlecht’s 3-1 win vs. OH Leuven on Sunday. You can see the goal here.
DENMARK
- Conor O’Brien started and played 90 minutes in Odense BK’s 1-0 loss vs. Aalborg BK on Sunday.
- Babajide Ogunbiyi started and played 90 minutes in Viborg FF’s 2-1 loss vs. AGF Aarhus on Sunday.
- Mike Grella dressed but did not play for Viborg FF.
AUSTRIA
- Terrence Boyd started and played 55 minutes in Rapid Vienna’s 4-2 win vs. Admira on Saturday.
SWEDEN
- Brian Span did not dress in Djurgarden IF’s 1-1 draw vs. Oster on Sunday.
NORWAY
- Mix Diskerud came off the bench and played 20 minutes in Rosenborg BK’s 2-1 win vs. Viking on Sunday.
- Josh Gatt did not dress in Molde FK’s 1-0 loss vs. Sarpsborg 08 on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Ethan Horvath did not dress for Molde FK.
- Ben Spencer did not dress for Molde FK .
- Steve Clark started and played 90 minutes in Honefoss BK’s 3-1 win vs. Sogndal on Sunday.
MEXICO
- Michael Orozco started and played 90 minutes in Puebla’s 1-1 draw vs. Pachuca on Saturday.
- DaMarcus Beasley started and played 90 minutes for Puebla.
- Jose Torres came off the bench and played 21 minutes in Tigres UANL’s 1-1 draw vs. Club Leon on Saturday.
- Jonathan Bornstein did not dress for Tigres UANL.
- Greg Garza started and played 90 minutes in Club Tijuana’s 4-1 win vs. Atlante on Friday.
- Edgar Castillo came off the bench and played 45 minutes for Club Tijuana.
- Herculez Gomez came off the bench and played 12 minutes for Club Tijuana.
- Paul Arriola dressed but did not play for Club Tijuana.
- Joe Corona did not dress for Club Tijuana.
- Joaquin Alonso Hernandez dressed but did not play in Monterrey’s 3-0 win vs. Veracruz on Saturday.
BRAZIL
- Freddy Adu did not dress in Bahia’s 0-0 draw vs. Gremio on Sunday.
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What do you think of these performances? How impressed are you by Kljestan’s recent form? Expecting Bradley to receive more starts in the coming weeks?
Share your thoughts below.