Aberdeen rebounded from a first league defeat since late November on Sunday afternoon and American forward Christian Ramirez had a major say in the final scoreline.
Ramirez registered the game-winning assist for Stephen Glass’ squad at Pittodrie, helping the hosts to a 2-1 home win over Dundee FC. The former MLS striker assisted on Lewis Ferguson’s eventual winning goal, watching as the midfielder struck home from outside of the box. Ferguson received a pass from Ramirez in the 69th minute before unleashing a long-range strike into the bottom-left corner. The 30-year-old Ramirez also drew one foul and won two aerial battles for the hosts, helping Aberdeen jump back into sixth place in the Scottish Premiership table.
Ramirez now has eight goals and three assists in league play this season, continuing a strong debut campaign in Europe.
Christian Pulisic went the distance for Chelsea on Sunday afternoon, helping Thomas Tuchel’s side defeat Aston Villa 2-0 at Villa Park. Pulisic started the match as a false No. 9 for the Blues, but finished as a right wing back in the comeback victory. Pulisic completed two of four dribbles and overall put in a hardworking shift as Chelsea kept pace with Manchester City and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.
Josh Sargent made his return for Norwich City on Sunday, playing 72 minutes in a 5-0 loss to Arsenal. Sargent won four of his 10 duels in the match and also completed one dribble, making his return after self-isolating from possible COVID-19 contact. The Canaries struggles continued Sunday with another lopsided home defeat, but Sargent’s return is a positive sign for Dean Smith’s side.
Here is a closer look at this weekend’s Americans Abroad action:
England
PREMIER LEAGUE
Christian Pulisic started and played 90 minutes in Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Sunday.
Josh Sargent started and played 72 minutes in Norwich City’s 5-0 loss to Arsenal on Sunday.
Zack Steffen dressed but did not play in Manchester City’s 6-3 win over Leicester City on Sunday.
LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
Duane Holmes started and played 79 minutes in Huddersfield’s 3-2 win over Blackpool on Sunday.
Ethan Horvath dressed but did not play in Nottingham Forest’s 2-0 loss to Middlesbrough on Sunday.
Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream and Fulham’s scheduled match with Birmingham City was postponed.
Matthew Olosunde and Preston North End’s scheduled match with Sheffield United was postponed.
LEAGUE ONE
Lynden Gooch started and played 90 minutes in Sunderland’s 3-0 win over Doncaster Rovers on Monday.
Belgium
PRO LEAGUE
Chris Durkin came off the bench and played 38 minutes in Sint-Truiden’s 2-0 win over Eupen on Monday.
Mark McKenzie did not dress in Genk’s 4-0 win over Oostende on Sunday.
Owen Otasowie did not dress in Club Brugge’s 2-0 loss to Cercle Brugge on Sunday.
Sam Vines and Royal Antwerp’s scheduled match with Kortrijk was postponed on Sunday.
Turkey
SUPER LIG
Haji Wright came off the bench and played 26 minutes in Antalyaspor’s 2-0 loss to Galatasaray on Saturday.
DeAndre Yedlin dressed but did not play for Galatasaray.
Tyler Boyd did not dress in Rizespor’s 1-0 loss to Gazientep on Sunday.
Scotland
PREMIERSHIP
Christian Ramirez started, played 90 minutes and registered AN ASSIST in Aberdeen’s 2-1 win over Dundee FC on Sunday.
Cameron Carter-Vickers started and played 90 minutes in Celtic’s 3-1 win over St. Johnstone on Sunday.
Ian Harkes did not dress in Dundee United’s 3-1 loss to Hibernian on Sunday.
Richard Ledezma got some minutes with PSV. Ian Harkes played the full 90. SBI has not been giving accurate info you guys gotta fix that.
“but the return of Sargeant is a positive sign for Dean Smiths side”…..uumm last I checked Sargeant hasn’t given much contributions to the team. He tries hard that’s about it. Their at the bottom of the table and just got smoked 5-0 Lmao. I hope he does well, I had high hopes but he should’ve stayed with Bremen and developed better in the 2. Bundesliga aiming to make it back to Bundesliga.
I’m confused about CP’s position. I thought he looked like a straight-up #9 because he spent the whole half trying to get into dangerous positions in front of goal to finish, poach, etc. I didn’t see anything false about it. He definitely was not playing small ball Barcelona style – he barely touched the ball, and they never played through the middle. How do we determine it was a false 9? Wasn’t Lukaku a real #9 when he came in? He scored like one. Is that just because he’s Lukaku, or is there something tactical that I’m missing? Would love to know since obviously if CP as a striker is an option for the US it would be great, so we can get more talent on the field. Though admittedly this did look like a failed experiment for Chelsea. Have to admit he looked a lot more comfortable out wide.
According to the match report Ian Harkes played 90 minutes.