Weston McKennie made his UEFA Champions League debut on Tuesday, and made it a memorable one.
The 20-year-old U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder played a big part in Schalke’s 1-1 home draw against Porto.
Following a scoreless first half which saw Porto denied from the penalty spot, McKennie set up Breel Embolo for Schalke’s opener in the 64th minute. The midfielder passed across the Porto box and Embolo finished nicely past Iker Casillas.
👀 #USMNT's Weston McKennie sets up Breel Embolo for Schalke's #UCL opener vs. Porto (via @brlive) https://t.co/btTqXl2ovB
— Planet Fútbol (@si_soccer) September 18, 2018
Porto escaped with a point after a highly-questionable penalty was awarded following the call of a non-existent foul in the penalty area.
McKennie put in an excellent shift working as a two-way midfielder in Schalke’s 3-5-2 system.
Schalke’s next match offers another tough test, with Bayern Munich visiting Gelsenkirchen on Sept. 22nd in Bundesliga play.
There was an article on a different site that talked about how McKennie’s play was a mixed bag, with a poor passing chart and completion %, but a pretty pass on the assist. Also much of that (according to the article) was due to inconsistent play from Schalke and a very direct counterattacking style. Also, the other midfielders on Schalke had similar problems, including one that only had 18 passes attempted the entire game. Anyway, seems pretty normal to me that a very young player has ups and downs, and that we are fortunate to have a pair of 20 yr olds playing and contributing to champions league teams on the same day.
I watched a Spanish language broadcast and understand very little Spanish. But, I do know that McKennie was mentioned a lot and he seemed very active and involved in the game.
Also, it’s good to see him return so quickly from his knee bruise.
+1