For the second time in a week, Jordan Pefok was amongst the goals for Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Pefok scored his third goal of the week as Gladbach tied Freiburg 3-3 in Bundesliga play on Saturday. The 27-year-old however was forced out of the match in the 44th minute with an apparent injury, ending his day on a worrying note.
After Lucas Holer propelled Freiburg in front after seven minutes, Pefok responded with a smooth finish of his own. Luca Netz’s headed pass was finished off by the American striker, giving him four goals across all competitions.
Alassane Plea and Julian Weigl extended Gladbach’s lead to 3-1 before the break, while Pefok exited the match one minute before halftime. The American finished with four duels won, one foul drawn, and one penalty-kick drawn.
Gladbach weren’t able to hang on for three points though, conceding second-half goals to Noah Weisshaupt and Vincenzo Grifo.
Fellow American Joe Scally logged 90 minutes at right back for Gladbach, continuing a good run of form in the squad.
Gladbach will host Wolfsburg on Nov. 10 in its final match before the November international break. Manager Gerardo Seoane will hope that Pefok’s injury doesn’t rule him out long-term after a good recent goalscoring run for the club.
Ricardo Pepi, Malik Tillman both score in PSV rout
A trio of American players contributed for PSV on Saturday in a dominant road victory over Heracles Almelo.
Ricardo Pepi scored once and assisted once, Malik Tillman added one goal, and Sergino Dest also featured in a 6-0 Eredivisie win. Both Pepi and Tillman appeared off the bench as second-half substitutes while Dest logged 60 minutes from the start at left back.
With PSV already leading 2-0 and up one man, Peter Bosz’s squad continued to keep their foot on the gas. Tillman entered the match in the 54th minute and needed only 11 minutes to add his name to the scoresheet.
The USMNT midfielder picked up a pass from Joey Veerman before stroking a right-footed shot into the bottom-left corner. It marked Tillman’s fourth league goal of the season for PSV.
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Pepi assisted on Andre Silva’s finish in the 69th minute, before icing the result ahead of second-half stoppage time.
Guus Til’s pass was slotted home by Pepi in the box for his third league goal of the campaign.
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PSV resumes UEFA Champions League action on Wednesday against Ligue 1 side Lens.
Gianluca Busio delivers winner for surging Venezia
Venezia’s quest to earn automatic promotion back to Serie A continued Saturday with Gianluca Busio playing the hero against Ternana.
Busio scored the winning goal and played 90 minutes in a 1-0 road victory, keeping Venezia in the top-two of the Serie B standings. Fellow American Tanner Tessmann also went the distance for Venezia, who claimed its fourth win out of its past five matches.
The loan goal of the match came in the 74th minute as Busio slotted home on a counter attack. Dennis Johnsen’s pass was drilled home by Busio into the bottom-right corner for a 1-0 lead that Venezia wouldn’t relinquish.
Busio also won three of his seven duels while Tessmann won six of his nine individual battles.
Both USMNT midfielders continue to play key roles for the club in Serie B.
Venezia will host Catanzaro on Nov. 10 ahead of the November international break.