Christian Pulisic and muscle fatigue decoded, Chris Richards’ consistency and Tyler Adams’ controlled chaos all play part of this week’s USMNT tracker.
Throughout the season, we will be bringing you updates on the USMNT players plying their trade in various leagues around Europe.
With a home-soil World Cup on the horizon, we’re keeping tabs on how they perform every weekend.
Issue of the weekend
The Italian top flight’s most American-influenced rivalry had to do without any Christian Pulisic magic on Friday.
As AC Milan headed to Turin to take on Juventus, the USMNT star was only watching from the stands after being withdrawn during his club’s previous game.
Instead, his compatriot Tim Weah stole the headlines for the hosts as he emerged from the bench to score the second goal of Juventus’s 2-0 win.
Weston McKennie, who started the game at right-back, was also celebrating by the end, while for the Rossoneri, Yunus Musah, another who started, played well but to no avail as Milan’s Champions League qualification hopes were dented.
It might have been different if Milan, whose 0.97xG (expected goals) overall was inferior to the winners’ 1.08, had been able to call on one of their strongest attacking talents. But Pulisic was not even on the bench after being taken off as a precaution in that win over Como on January 14.
The 26-year-old had appeared to sustain an injury to his left calf but subsequent scans ruled out a muscle tear and his manager Sergio Conceicao explained why he was not willing to risk him at the Allianz Arena.
“Pulisic is out,” Conceicao said. “I don’t feel like bluffing. He still feels some discomfort and we don’t want to risk it.
“It’s nothing serious but if he plays for about 20 minutes, he risks making the situation worse and I don’t want that.”
Tim Weah scores in Juventus’s 2-0 win over AC Milan (Isabella Bonotto/AFP via Getty Images)
It is not the first time Milan have referred to muscle fatigue when explaining a Pulisic absence. In November 2023, he missed a league game against Udinese before featuring in a Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain.
Pulisic was taken off late in that victory at San Siro and missed the following Serie A fixture against Lecce as well as his country’s CONCACAF Nations League semi-final win over Trinidad and Tobago with what was also described as muscle fatigue.
But what is the condition? Anyone who has ever trained in the gym and felt soreness — commonly known as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) — will have a rough idea.
For a professional footballer, heavy DOMs and muscle fatigue can feel the same, and crucially it can elevate their chance of picking up a more serious problem if not rested. Players who have a history of being vulnerable to injury if feeling muscle fatigue are often, in that case, rested.
Conceicao will now hope that his decision to rest Pulisic against Juventus will allow the former Chelsea attacker to play a part in Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Girona and Sunday’s Serie A game against Parma.
Player of the weekend
Chris Richards is settling into solid form for Crystal Palace and was impressive again as they beat West Ham 2-0 on Saturday.
The 24-year-old made five clearances and eight defensive actions as Palace traveled to the London Stadium and kept a clean sheet against a team now managed by Graham Potter.
Richards has now started his team’s last four Premier League games, consisting of three wins and a 1-1 draw with Chelsea. Oliver Glasner’s men are now 12th in the table.
Chris Richards has racked up four starts in a row for Crystal Palace (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Quote of the weekend
“We believe in the system that we’re playing in right now and the culture of the team has grown a lot. We’ve added so many great players.
“The system that we play, you have to be a certain type of player to fit into the style we have and have the mentality to press and run, and compete. Everyone in our squad can do that.
“It’s a controlled chaos. We want to make the game as chaotic as possible but controlled for us.
“We try and overwhelm the opponent as much as possible but for us, it feels normal. We’re running all over the place. We know I have the freedom to step (forward), I know centre-backs are coming with me. The No 10 has freedom to step, they know I’m coming with them.
“It’s this trust but you have to have the nuance to it as well. You can’t go flying into tackles all over the pitch. You have to be smart because we know we can leave ourselves vulnerable at times.”
Tyler Adams gives an eloquent insight into the winning style that saw Bournemouth beat Newcastle 4-1 on Saturday and move level on points with Chelsea (before the latter’s Monday game against Wolves).
Bournemouth’s victory came despite an extensive injury list, with Evanilson, Marcos Senesi, Julian Araujo, Marcus Tavernier, Alex Scott, Luis Sinisterra, Adam Smith, Enes Unal and James Hill all sidelined.
Adams, who has made 13 appearances in all competitions this season after returning from a lengthy injury lay-off of his own, was full of praise for his side’s mentality in the face of adversity.
Jeff Rueter’s graphic of the weekend
How did other U.S. players get on?
Name: Antonee Robinson
Club: Fulham
Position: Left-back
Appearances: 22
Goals: 0
The USMNT defender was typically imperious down Fulham’s left as Marco Silva’s men enjoyed a 2-0 win over struggling Leicester City. Defensively, he was robust too with no opponent dribbling past him as he recorded 10 defensive actions and 10 ball recoveries.
Name: Johnny Cardoso
Club: Real Betis
Position: Midfield
Appearances: 23
Goals: 1
The USMNT man had another sub-par outing. After his Real Betis side’s impressive seven-game unbeaten run came to an end at Real Valladolid last Saturday, they lost 5-1 to Barcelona and then, on Saturday, there was a 3-1 loss at home to Deportivo Alaves. He was booked and won just one of his seven ground duels
Name: James Sands
Club: St. Pauli
Position: Midfielder
Appearances: 3
On his first Bundesliga start, the American looked composed and comfortable as St. Pauli won 2-0 at Heidenheim. He played 71 minutes, picked up a booking and created a chance for his team.
Name: Paxten Aaronson
Club: Utrecht
Position: Midfield
Appearances: 22
Goals: 6
The 21-year-old has been a hit for a side that has risen to third in Eredivisie. He did well in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with AZ Alkmaar, making five ball recoveries in midfield.
Name: Erik Palmer-Brown
Club: Panathinaikos
Position: Centre-back
Appearances: 3
Goals: 0
After a season starved of game time in the Greek Super League, the 27-year-old started in defence for Sunday’s 1-0 home win over AEK Athens. He did not get on the ball much — Palmer-Brown had the fewest touches (28) of any outfield player to play 90 minutes — but made nine defensive actions and eight clearances as his team kept a clean sheet.
What’s coming up?
(All times in Eastern Time)
It’s Champions League time, so all eyes will be on the San Siro on Wednesday to see whether Pulisic recovers to play his part against Girona (3pm, CBSSN/Paramount +). At the same time, Auston Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers’ Celtic play Swiss outfit Young Boys (Paramount +).
The day before (Tuesday), Ricardo Pepi will hope for more minutes as PSV face Red Star Belgrade (3pm, Paramount +) although Malik Tillman has suffered an ankle injury which may yet mean an extended spell on the sidelines.
On Thursday, Tanner Tessman’s Lyon play Fenerbahce in the Europa League (12:45pm, Paramount +).
Then on Saturday, Bournemouth’s ‘controlled chaos’ will be unleashed again as Tyler Adams and Co face the stiff test of Nottingham Forest in the Premier League (10am, Peacock Premium).
(Top photos: Tyler Adams, left, and Tim Weah; Getty Images)
