Top Stories

Pepi, Pulisic among USMNT players to reach Champions League knockout stage

Matchday 8 of the UEFA Champions League league-phase is in the books with several American players staying alive in the competition.

Christian Pulisic, Ricardo Pepi, and Weston McKennie were among the 12 U.S. men’s national team players to advance into the playoff round. The playoff draw will take place on Friday.

The first legs will be played on February 11-12 and the second legs will be played Feb. 18-19.

Reyna, Cole Campbell and Borussia Dortmund finished 10th in the standings following Wednesday’s 3-1 home win over Shakhtar Donetsk. Reyna added one assist off the bench in the result.

Pulisic and Yunus Musah both featured in AC Milan’s shocking 2-1 road loss at Dinamo Zagreb. Musah was sent off before halftime after a pair of yellow cards before Pulisic scored in the second half.

Pepi scored his second UCL goal of this season’s competition as PSV defeated Liverpool 3-2 on home soil. Richie Ledezma has also played a large role for PSV during the league phase, while Malik Tillman and Sergino Dest remain sidelined through injury.

Folarin Balogun remains sidelined at French club Monaco, but the Ligue 1 side finished 17th in the standings.

Weston McKennie and Tim Weah both featured in Juventus’ 2-0 home loss to Benfica on Wednesday. The Bianconeri finished 20th in the league table.

Auston Trusty started in Celtic’s 4-2 road loss to Aston Villa while Cameron Carter-Vickers missed the match through injury. Celtic finished 21st following the result.

Here is a breakdown of who we could see face off in the playoff round:


Weston McKennie, Tim Weah and Juventus could face either Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah and AC Milan, or Ricardo Pepi, Richie Ledezma, Sergino Dest, Malik Tillman and PSV.

Gio Reyna, Cole Campbell and Borussia Dortmund could face either Sporting Lisbon or Club Brugge.

Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty and Celtic could face either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.

Folarin Balogun and Monaco could face either Paris Saint-Germain or Benfica.

Comments

  1. PN,

    “Note that both McKennie and Weah started for Juventus, but not in their usual positions. I find it impressive that those two can move right into those wingback spots, contribute to the attack, and put in good shifts,”

    ?? They have been doing this all season. That is their value to this team.

    “Reyna is in a tough spot. He isn’t getting consistent minutes and Dortmund right now won’t get a transfer offer that matches his potential value. I sense some activity is possible in the summer transfer window.”

    BVB is in big time transition. At the same time, a lot of the alleged January landing places for Gio look questionable at best.
    And he seems to slowly be trending upward at Dortmund.
    And BVB have some injuries so they won’t be offloading midfielders any time soon barring a crazy money offer.

    Gio waiting till the summer to move is looking more likely ;

    Hopefully he will have won a lot more PT by then and will have added to his price tag and he will more options by then. That might be the best thing for BVB and Gio.

    “PSV turned down an offer from West Ham for a Pepi loan. Either PSV wants to hold onto him or think he is worth more transfer money than being offered.”

    Before his knee injury, PSV had zero interest in loaning out Ricardo. W/o him they had no cover for DeJong. Now they have to find some.

    I thought the plan was for Pepi to most likely become the full time starter next ( 25-26 season ) season. And then he was supposed to go to the World Cup and make a big splash there. If that happens, and it still can, then yes, you’re talking the kind of big money I think PSV always saw for Ricardo.

    Hopefully, his recovery goes well and PSV don’t unearth some superstar Mbappe clone kid striker in the interim.

    Reply
  2. Pulisic continues to be, if not the best, at least the most consistent player on AC Milan. I’d sell Leao in a second if I ran that team. Use the money too go out and get someone who will play the whole game and be a team player. Adayemi or Bakayoko come to mind. It’s amazing to see Pulisic start to put this team on his shoulders like he does with the USMNT – it’s AC MILAN! So cool for this old man to see a US player doing that.

    McKennie CAPTAINED JUVENTUS! Just sayin’. Also the guy plays so quickly and accurately. The ball is off his foot within a second nearly everytime the ball comes to him and nearly always finds it’s mark, He is a great facilitator…maybe not the most creative but he’s the pass before the pass kind of guy. Did I mention he CAPTAINED JUVENTUS – JUVENTUS?! In a Champions League game?!

    Reyna’s assist was ridiculous. Give the guy more playing time. What do you have to lose Dortmund?! You sit 11th in the Bundesliga. Stop running our so many conservative CMs and DMs. It’s not working. You still bleed goals. Go and try to outscore your opponents. Free Reyna!!! Play Brandt AND Reyna. Watching BVB this year is like watching the Berhalter US…no ideas, like they are playing in a field of mud (same for Juventus come to think of it and AC Milan – but they have hope with the new coach).

    Speaking of freeing a player. I can’t wait for Pepi to to get regular minutes. His movement and hold up has really improved. He’s ready to truly breakout in a bigger league.

    Reply
    • I agree on Pulisic. Morata is underperming in my eyes, and Leao shows only sporadic moments of excellence. In addition, Musah has been playing well lately, despite the red card debacle yesterday. He’s become a much improved 2-way player.

      Note that both McKennie and Weah started for Juventus, but not in their usual positions. I find it impressive that those two can move right into those wingback spots, contribute to the attack, and put in good shifts,

      Reyna is in a tough spot. He isn’t getting consistent minutes and Dortmond right now won’t get a transfer offer that matches his potential value. I sense some activity is possible in the summer transfer window.

      PSV turned down an offer from West Ham for a Pepi loan. Either PSV wants to hold onto him or think he is worth more transfer money than being offered.

      Reply
    • MotO

      ” It’s amazing to see Pulisic start to put this team on his shoulders like he does with the USMNT – it’s AC MILAN! So cool for this old man to see a US player doing that.”

      “McKennie CAPTAINED JUVENTUS! Just sayin’. ……. Did I mention he CAPTAINED JUVENTUS – JUVENTUS?! In a Champions League game?!

      In European club soccer being named captain means a LOT. I don’t know if Milan named CP captain but he came to them as a Champions League winner from Chelsea so he wasn’t exactly crap.

      It puts into perspective the fact that Claudio Reyna in 1998 when he was loaned to Wolfsburg, was named Captain at the age of 24.
      That was a really big deal for an American.

      Reply
  3. I think the first yellow was worst. Sure the referee was “letting them play” but Musah should know by now to limit arguing with the referee. 1) It won’t change anything and 2) the referee can punish you.

    Pulisic’s goal was good, he received a pass that was not very friendly,,turned and beat the defender and keeper with his shot.

    Reply
    • Also, it was pretty light contact given all the referee had let go previously. The attacker felt some pressure on his back and the ball got away from him, whether or not it was enough pressure to force him to ground, to ground he went, and the decision of diving was revised.

      Reply

Leave a Comment