Phenoms

When Fulhamerica beats Liverpool at Anfield, you know that foreshadows a historic day for USMNT players in Europe. While Antonee Robinson got off the bench in that one (although Tim Ream didn’t), Sunday saw goals from a remarkable number of U.S. footballers abroad, including Josh Sargent, Brenden Aaronson, Tyler Boyd and Konrad de la Fuente.

We’ll start with Sarg in the Bundesliga. The 21-year-old striker scored Werder Bremen’s lone goal in a 1-1 draw with FC Köln. Sargent’s header was his second goal in as many games, giving him four in 22 appearances this season.  

With 18 goals in his first 13 Champions League appearances, Erling Haaland is on pace to overtake Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time scoring record sometime next month. The 20-year-old Norwegian scored two and assisted one — all in the first half — of Borussia Dortmund’s electric 3-2 victory over Sevilla in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie on Wednesday.  

MUNICH, Germany - Hosts Bayern Munich had to battle back from two goals down to rescue a 3-3 draw against strugglers Arminia Bielefeld on Monday and had their lead at the top of the Bundesliga cut to five points.

Four days after lifting the Club World Cup for a sixth title in less than nine months, Bayern crashed back to Bundesliga reality with Bielefeld racing to a 2-0 lead in the first half.

It’s been 10 years since Lille OSC captured its last Ligue 1 title, but one look at the table sees the club from northern France setting the pace ahead of last season’s Champions League semifinalist Lyon and, of course, three-time defending champion Paris Saint-Germain. 

If it’s a position that Lille didn’t anticipate being in with just 14 matches remaining, 20-year-old American forward Timothy Weah isn’t letting on to any sense of disbelief. 

After a 3-2 defeat to relegation-threatened Lorient on Jan. 31 acted as the first true bit of unpleasantness in Mauricio Pochettino’s short Paris Saint-Germain reign, the club has since rebounded nicely with back-to-back victories over Nîmes and Marseille in Le Classique. 

Key to the uptick has been the play of Kylian Mbappé, who reached and surpassed the career landmark of 150 goals with two world-class goals in those wins. 

Against Nîmes, the 22-year-old showcased the lethal finishing power of his right foot.  

Jesús Ferreira made his second game for the U.S. men's national team memorable with two goals and three assists in a 7-0 win against Trinidad and Tobago in Orlando, on Sunday.

The Colombia-born Ferreira, 20, debuted on Feb. 1, 2020, vs. Costa Rica — two months after gaining American citizenship. The FC Dallas striker did not get on the scoreboard in that game but more than made up for it against the Trinidadians.

We’ve reached a new level in the relationship between Nike and the young phenoms churned out at Santos FC. It began with PSG’s Neymar, who signed with the multinational corporation at the age of 13. That trend continued with Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, who, at the tender age of 11, became Nike’s youngest-ever affiliated athlete after dazzling at a youth tournament in New York.

In between going the full 90 in Juventus’ Supercoppa victory over Napoli and scoring against Bologna in Serie A play on Sunday, Weston McKennie found time to visit Ollivanders wand shop in Diagon Alley. 

This is a magical goal celebration.