There was agony for Ricardo Pepi, FA Cup embarrassment for a fit-again Chris Richards and a reassuring goal for Folarin Balogun as European clubs’ USMNT stars were in action over the weekend.
Cruel blow for Pepi
It was so bad, even Ricardo Pepi’s veteran coach admits he had to look away.
The USMNT striker’s terrible luck with injury continued at the weekend with a setback that will see him sidelined once more.
This time, the in-form striker got hurt doing what he does best — scoring.
Pepi’s poacher’s instinct saw him net the second goal as PSV beat visitors Excelsior 5-1 in the top division of the Dutch league on Saturday, but after he lost his footing, the 23-year-old fell, breaking his left arm in a sickening manner.
“It didn’t look good right away, and at such a moment you would prefer to look the other way,” said PSV head coach Peter Bosz to the club’s website afterwards. “Last January, Ricardo was already out due to his knee injury. It won’t last that long now, but unfortunately, we lost him again.
“All signs were green for a strong second half of the season, so this is incredibly disappointing. First and foremost for him, and obviously for us as well.”
Pepi may miss the USMNT’s two March friendlies after breaking his arm (John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)
Immediate inspection by medics revealed Pepi had badly fractured his forearm. It was painful, and terrible timing for him and his club; coming in his much-anticipated season as PSV’s first-choice centre-forward after so long playing a supporting role to former captain Luuk de Jong.
As Bosz says, Pepi has continued his impressive scoring knack — he has 11 goals across the Eredivisie and Champions League this season. There had also been strong speculation, not for the first time, that Premier League clubs were interested in signing the Texan during this winter transfer window. Fulham had been most strongly linked.
His likely two-month absence while that arm heals will end that for now, and could mean he misses the USMNT’s pre-World Cup friendlies against Belgium and Portugal in the international break at the end of March.
Given national-team head coach Mauricio Pochettino is not exactly overburdened with goalscoring centre-forwards among his options, it is a blow for him too. But as Bosz says, Pepi has had longer and more exacting setbacks before, most notably last term’s knee injury, and has shown resilience and a knack for quickly getting back into the groove when he returns from them.
If Pepi’s injury is a headache for club and country, at least Folarin Balogun is cruising along nicely.
The USMNT striker has had his own injury travails at Monaco of France’s top-flight Ligue 1, especially last season, but he took his goal tally for them during this one to eight in all competitions at the weekend.
It may have only been in a routine 3-1 away win against third-tier Orleans in the French Cup’s round of 32 but Balogun’s confidently-struck goal keeps him ticking over after an assist in his most recent league game, a 3-1 loss to Lyon.
Scally goal another nudge for Pochettino
It was an even more upbeat weekend for USMNT defender Joe Scally.
The 23-year-old has struggled for games under Pochettino, although he returned to the starting line-up for November’s 2-1 win against Paraguay. Now he is working at making his form in the German Bundesliga hard for his national-team coach to overlook.
Scally has been a virtual ever-present for Borussia Monchengladbach this season, and on Sunday he scored the opening goal as they beat visitors Augsburg 4-0.
He showed his flexibility at right wing-back, where he put in a lively attacking display, forcing Finn Dahmen into a string of saves.
Scally has previous for his ability to hit the back of the net — one need only remember his 2023 screamer in a game against Mainz. And he will need more performances like the one on Sunday to ensure himself a spot on the United States’ roster for the tournament this summer.
Staying at Borussia Park, Scally’s compatriot and club team-mate Gio Reyna did not start the Augsburg game after a previously encouraging spell back in the Gladbach first XI. He did make it onto the field for the final five minutes, though.
Richards returns… but might wish he hadn’t
The good news was that Chris Richards was back. The bad was that it had to be in this game.
Crystal Palace made the headlines for all the wrong reasons on Saturday when, as the FA Cup holders, they fell victim to an all-time upset in their first match in that competition since lifting the trophy at Wembley in May.
On their artificial pitch, Macclesfield of English football’s sixth tier beat their Premier League visitors 2-1 — a fairytale result for manager John Rooney (younger brother of former Manchester United and England striker Wayne, and once a midfielder for New York Red Bulls) and his players.
Richards in action against Macclesfield (Darren Staples / AFP via Getty Images)
Richards has missed Palace’s previous four fixtures after picking up a nasty foot injury against Leeds in the Premier League just before Christmas. But he was back and surprisingly busy on Saturday, making 14 clearances (more than any other defender who started the match).
In the end, the only positive was that the 25-year-old played the full game and did not seem in any discomfort.
What’s coming up this week?
(All kick-offs in Eastern Time)
Christian Pulisic didn’t manage to stamp his usual influence on Milan’s 1-1 draw with Fiorentina on Sunday, which saw them drop points in the Serie A title race. By his high standards, he should have done better with at least one of the handful of chances he got at Stadio Artemio Franchi. But Pulisic is not the type of player to drop his level for long, so tune in to see if he can get back on track when Milan make the short trip to Como on Thursday (2:45pm, Paramount+).
In the Bundesliga, there could be an intriguing encounter for USMNT fans. If Gio Reyna can win back his starting place for Gladbach on Wednesday, he could go up against Hoffenheim’s new loan signing from Borussia Dortmund, the promising 19-year-old Cole Campbell (2:30pm, ESPN+). Another potential match-up that afternoon could be James Sands and St Pauli against Wolfsburg, for whom another young prospect, Kevin Paredes, made his first appearance of the season on Sunday following a foot injury (12:30pm, ESPN+).
Then, at the weekend, there’s another big U.S. match-up in the Premier League as the resurgent Brenden Aaronson will hope to shine again for Leeds at home against Antonee Robinson’s Fulham (Saturday, 10am, Peacock Premium).