While a young star headlined the week in Champions League play, several Americans put together strong performances in Liga MX action.
Christian Pulisic and Borussia Dortmund faced a tough task emotionally in coming back for Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League quarterfinal clash against Monaco, and they fell just short in a 3-2 defeat. Less than 24 hours after an explosion rocked the team bus and injured defender Marc Bartra, Pulisic joined Wednesday’s match as a substitute as a pair of goals from Monaco youngster Kylian Mbappe doomed the German club in the first leg.
Liga MX play was headlined by Tijuana, who earned a 1-0 win over Queretaro on Wednesday evening. Paul Arriola and Joe Corona both earned minutes in the win, with the former going a full 90. William Yarbrough couldn’t lead his team to a win, but he did preserve a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw with Chiapas.
Finally, Jorge Villafana found himself in a thriller, as Santos Laguna earned a 2-2 draw with Monterrey in one of the week’s more high-scoring affairs.
Here’s a closer look at how Americans fared throughout the week:
GERMANY
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Christian Pulisic entered as a 45th minute substitute in Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 loss to AS Monaco on Tuesday.
MEXICO
LIGA MX
William Yarbrough started and played 90 minutes in Leon’s 0-0 draw with Chiapas on Tuesday.
Jose Torres dressed but did not play in Tigres UANL’s 3-0 win over Chivas de Guadalajara on Tuesday.
Paul Arriola started and played 90 minutes in Tijuana’s 1-0 win over Queretaro on Wednesday.
Joe Corona started and played 58 minutes for Tijuana.
Jonathan Bornstein dressed but did not play for Queretaro.
Michael Orozco, Alejandro Guido, Amando Moreno and John Requejo did not dress for Tijuana.
Jorge Villafana started and played 90 minutes in Santos Laguna’s 2-2 draw with Monterrey on Wednesday.
Ventura Alvarado did not dress for Santos Laguna.
Edgar Castillo did not dress for Monterrey.
Omar Gonzalez dressed but did not play in Pachuca’s 0-0 draw with Morelia on Wednesday.
He changed the game to start the 2nd half. Faded a bit after that, but definitely changed the tempo of the game.
Pulisic had a “hockey”assist on the 2nd goal. He took a defender one-v-one and got blocked. It was enough to pull the defender out of position. The ball then popped out on the challenge and Sahin drilled a cross that Kagawa finished.
Pulisic was all over the field. I’d be really surprised if he doesn’t start the return leg as they need to score early and often.
Exactly what jay said about the non-assist by Pulisic. Here is a link to highlights: http://www.fullmatchesandshows.com/2017/04/12/borussia-dortmund-vs-monaco-highlights/2/ The last goal is about 80% of the way through the clip.
I’ve read tow different match recap’s and one play-by-play that say Pulisic had the assist on their second goal. Anyone that watched able to confirm?
I only watched from minute 45 to 55, and my lord, the guy was on fire. He had three plays in a row where he made Monaco defenders look like they were chasing shadows.