Red Bull Salzburg was able to earn a victory in penalties to qualify for the Austrian Cup final, with Brenden Aaronson going the full 120-minute distance on Wednesday.
Aaronson converted the fourth penalty of the shootout that led to the tightly-contested win at Wolfsberger. Salzburg had a bad start after conceding early in the third minute of play, but then turned the tide from the start of the second half thanks to the constant midfield high press led by Aaronson. He later almost made a game winning goal in the 97th minute when his shot went wide off of a deflection. Salzburg will now meet SV Ried in the final on May 1st, with Aaronson will have a chance to win the Austrian Cup trophy for a second straight year.
In the Europa League action, Sergiño Dest started and suffered an injury in the 56th minute. This comes at an unfortunate time just before the USMNT roster is announced. The right wingback had a productive day in Istanbul with four successful dribbles (most in the match) and winning 70% of his ground duels. Now he is in doubt for the several weeks of upcoming big matches for both club and country.
In Champions League play, Christian Pulisic started and made the game tieing goal at the end of the first half. He played a total of 74 minutes while fellow USMNT teammate Tim Weah also competed for 32 minutes. The winger came in at the 58th minute and completed nine of ten of his passes, but it was not enough to help his side find the equalizer in front of the home crowd. More news on how Pulisic helped Chelsea advance can be found here.
In Germany, Gio Reyna came off the bench and made the game winning assist off a free kick at the 87th minute. Reyna got busy from the start (more on that here) until he made an opportunity off the set peice for the victory.
In England, Horvath played 90 minutes in Nottingham Forest’s 3-1 win against QPR for the continual climb up the table. Horvath only faced one shot on target, but was kept busy throughout the match with 37 touches and 11 recoveries. This Sunday he will face his biggest test yet since his arrival in Nottingham when they host Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter finals.
Here is a closer look at this week’s Americans Abroad:
International
Champions League
Christian Pulisic started, scored a GOAL, and played 74 minutes in Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Lille on Wednesday.
Tim Weah came off the bench and played 32 minutes for Lille.
Weston McKennie is OUT FOR SEASON (Injury) for Juventus.
Europa League
Sergiño Dest started and picked up an INJURY after playing 56 minutes in Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Galatasaray on Thursday.
James Sands came off te bench and played 21 minutes in Rangers’ 2-1 loss to FC Crvena Zvezda on Thursday.
Timmy Chandler dressed but did not play in Eintracht Frankfurt’s 1-0 loss to Real Betis on Thursday.
Conference League
Konrad De La Fuente dressed but did not play in Marseille’s 2-1 win over FC Basel on Thursday.
Cole Bassett did not dress in Feyenoord’s 3-1 win over Partizan Belgrade on Thursday.
Richie Ledezma is OUT (Injury) for PSV.
England
Championship
Ethan Horvath started and played 90 minutes in Nottingham Forest’s 3-1 win over QPR on Wednesday.
Duane Holmes started and played 90 minutes in Huddersfield Town’s 2-0 loss to Millwall on Wednesday.
Germany
Bundesliga
Giovanni Reyna came off the bench, made an ASSIST, and played 21 minutes in Dortmund’s 1-0 win over Mainz on Wednesday.
3. Liga
Johan Gomez came off the bench and played 12 minutes in FSV Zwickau’s 0-0 draw with FC Viktoria Berlin on Wednesday.
Italy
Serie B
Andrija Novakovich started and played 90 minutes in Frosinone’s 2-0 loss to Crotone on Tuesday.
Anthony Fontana is OUT (Injury) for Ascoli.
Austria
Austrian Cup
Brenden Aaronson started, converted a PENALTY, and played 120 minutes in Red Bull Salzburg’s 1-1 win in penalties over Wolfsberger AC on Wednesday.