Big weekend for U.S. players in Europe

by J.R. Eskilson

June 22, 2020

With men’s professional soccer returning in various countries in Europe, U.S. Men’s National Team members have started to put up some impressive performances in the final games of the season.

Seventeen-year-old Giovanni Reyna recorded an assist in his first start for Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. Dortmund won the game 2-0 over RB Leipzig to lock up second place in the Bundesliga. Reyna’s manager has been singing his praises recently.

“He's only 17 but he's a huge talent," Dortmund manager Lucien Favre said. "He understands football, makes the right runs, defends properly. It's fantastic what he does.”

First @Bundesliga_EN start, first assist for Giovanni Reyna ✨🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/lW7iYkIp39
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 20, 2020

Dortmund ends the season against Hoffenheim on Saturday.

U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder Tyler Adams also featured in the game on Saturday as he came off the bench for RB Leipzig in the loss. RB Leipzig closes the season against Augsburg. Adams’ squad is fighting to hold onto the third spot with Gladbach only one point back heading into the final game.

Center back Christopher Richards, who turned 20 in March, made his debut for Bayern Munich as a second half substitute in the 3-1 win over SC Freiburg.

“I felt good about my performance,” Richards told CBSSports.com after the match. “There was a little mix-up about the header that I lost, so I wish I could've done that better, but overall I was happy with my performance.”

Bayern Munich plays Wolfsburg on Saturday for the final league game, and wraps up the German campaign with the German Cup final on July 4. Bayern will also take part in Champions League play when it restarts in August with the final eight teams.

Chelsea is also among the final eight teams left in the European competition, and the London squad was in action over the weekend. U.S. Men’s National Team star Christian Pulisic scored five minutes after coming in Chelsea’s come-from-behind win over Aston Villa. Pulisic entered in the second half with Chelsea trailing 0-1 and made an immediate impact.