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Christian Pulisic grabbed headlines with an important goal for AC Milan in the Italian Super Cup semifinals as teammate Yunus Musah helped to perform some late heroics.
Auston Trusty tallied his first goal for Celtic, which bounced back from a rare defeat in the Scottish Premiership.
The teams of Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis) and Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo) advanced in the Copa del Rey in Spain.
And in England, Brenden Aaronson helped Leeds United remain atop the English Championship, despite playing in a pair of draws.
THE COMEBACK KID
Christian Pulisic could not have asked for a better comeback on Friday, Jan. 3. In his first game back from missing almost a month due to injury, Pulisic converted a penalty kick to spark AC Milan to a 2-1 victory over Juventus in the Italian Super Cup semifinals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
His USMNT teammate Yunus Musah put his stamp on the match as well, firing a powerful shot that was deflected into the net in the 75th minute, which proved to be the winning goal at Al-Awwal Park. It all added up to a successful Milan debut for new head coach Sergio Conceicao, who was appointed last week.
After Milan conceded a goal to Juve, Pulisic was tripped by Manuel Locatelli in the 70th minute and earned a penalty kick. Pulisic stepped up and drove the ball slightly to the left of goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio to knot the game up at 1-1. Pulisic has recorded nine goals and five assists across all competitions for Milan this season. Then Musah took center stage in the 75th minute as the midfielder latched onto a long ball down the right side. After beating his man, Musah drove a 22-yard shot that deflected off Federico Gatti and bounced twice before entering the far end of the net for a 2-1 advantage.
Pulisic went the entire 90 minutes while earning a yellow card in the 82nd minute. Musah came on for Ismael Bennacer in the 54th minute.
Two U.S. internationals performed for Juventus as midfielder Weston McKennie played 86 minutes before he was replaced by Tim Weah, who returned from a hamstring issue.
A HEADS UP PLAY
Austin Trusty connected for his first goal since joining Celtic from Sheffield United in the team's 3-0 home win over St. Mirren on Sunday, Jan. 5. The defender headed home Arne Engels' corner kick past goalkeeper Zachary Hemming to give the hosts to a two-goal advantage in the 43rd minute. The victory helped Celtic put its 3-0 loss to Rangers on Wednesday, Jan. 1 behind the squad. Celtic (17-1-2, 53 points) leads second-place Rangers (12-4-4, 40) by 13 points, after the latter dropped points in a 3-3 draw at Hibernian on Sunday.
MOVING ON
The teams of Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis) and Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo) advanced to the Round of 16 of the Copa del Rey in Spain. Cardoso played the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 away win against Huesca in the Round of 32 on Saturday, Jan. 4. A day later, Celta Vigo edged past host and 10-man Racing Santander, 3-2. De la Torre did not play in that game.
STILL IN FIRST
Despite dropping points in a pair of draws, Brenden Aaronson's Leeds United remained (15-3-8, 53) atop the English Championship by a point over Burnley (14-2-10, 52) last week. Aaronson started and played the full 90 minutes in each match, a 1-1 home tie against Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday, Jan. 1 and a 3-3 deadlock at Hull City on Saturday, Jan. 4. Burnley played to 0-0 home tie on Jan. 1, but bounced back with a 1-0 victory at Blackburn Rovers three days later.
FULL RUNDOWN
-- Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United; English Championship) - 90 minutes in 3-3 draw at Hull City (Jan. 4); 90 minutes in 1-1 draw vs. Blackburn Rovers (Jan. 1)
-- Paxten Aaronson (Utrecht; Dutch Eredivisie) - No games
-- Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth; English Premier League) - 20 minutes as a substitute in 1-0 win vs. Everton (Jan. 4)
-- Folarin Balogun (Monaco; French Ligue 1) - Injured, DNP in 1-0 loss at Paris Saint-Germain (Jan. 5)
-- Taylor Booth (Utrecht; Dutch Eredivisie) - No games
-- Gianluca Busio (Venezia; Italian Serie A) - 90 minutes in 1-1 draw vs. Empoli (Jan. 4)
-- Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis; Spain La Liga) - 90 minutes in 1-0 win at Huesca in Copa del Rey (Jan. 4)
-- Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic; Scottish Premiership) - 90 minutes in 3-0 win vs. St. Mirren (Jan. 5); 90 minutes in 3-0 loss at Rangers (Jan. 2)
-- Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven; Dutch Eredivisie) - No games
-- Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo, Spain La Liga) - Not in 18, DNP in 3-2 win at Racing Santander in Copa del Rey (Jan. 5)
-- Marlon Fossey (Standard Liege; Belgian Pro League) - No games
-- Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City; Championship) - In 18, DNP in 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough; In 18, DNP in 1-1 draw vs. Coventry City (Jan. 1)
-- Richy Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven; Dutch Eredivisie) - No games
-- Kristoffer Lund (Palermo; Italy Serie B) - No games
-- Lennard Maloney (Heidenheim; Bundesliga) - No games
-- Weston McKennie (Juventus; Italy Serie A) - 86 minutes in 2-1 loss vs. A.C. Milan in Italian Super Cup (Jan. 3)
-- Mark McKenzie (Toulouse; French Ligue 1) - 90 minutes in 1-0 win at Lens (Jan. 5)
-- Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough; Championship) - Injured, DNP in 1-1 draw vs. Cardiff City (Jan. 1); Injured, DNP in 1-0 win at Hull City (Jan. 1)
-- Yunus Musah (A.C. Milan; Italy Serie A) - Vs. Inter Milan in Italian Super Cup (Monday, 2 p.m. ET); 36 minutes as a substitute in 2-1 win vs. Juventus in Italian Super Cup (Jan. 3)
-- Erik Palmer-Brown (Panathinaikos; Greek Super League) - Not in 18, DNP in 2-1 win vs. PAOK (Jan. 5)
-- Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg; Bundesliga) - No games
-- Jordan Pefok (Union Berlin; Bundesliga) - No games
-- Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven; Dutch Eredivisie) - No games
-- Christian Pulisic (A.C. Milan; Italy Serie A) - Vs. Inter Milan in Italian Super Cup (Monday, 2 p.m. ET); 90 minutes, GOAL, in 2-1 win vs. Juventus in Italian Super Cup (Jan. 3)
-- Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund; Bundesliga) - No games
-- Bryan Reynolds (Westerlo; Belgian Pro League) - No games
-- Chris Richards (Crystal Palace; English Premier League) - 90 minutes in 1-1 draw vs. Arsenal (Jan. 4)
-- Antonee Robinson (Fulham; English Premier League) - 90 minutes in 2-2 draw vs. Ipswich Town (Jan. 5)
-- Josh Sargent (Norwich City; English Championship) - Injured, DNP in 2-1 win vs. Coventry City (Jan. 4); Injured, DNP in 1-0 win at Luton (Jan. 1)
-- Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach; Bundesliga) - No games
-- Gaga Slonina (Barnsley; English League One) - Injured, DNP in 3-0 win vs. Crawley Town (Jan. 4); Injured, DNP in 2-1 win vs. Wrexham (Jan. 1)
-- Tanner Tessmann (Lyon; French Ligue 1) - 15 minutes as a substitute in 1-0 win vs. Montpellier (Jan. 4)
-- Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven; Dutch Eredivisie) - No games
-- Auston Trusty (Celtic; Scottish Premiership) - 90 minutes, GOAL, in 3-0 win vs. St. Mirren (Jan. 5); In 18, DNP in 3-0 loss at Rangers (Jan. 2)
-- Matt Turner (Crystal Palace; English Premier League) - In 18, DNP in 1-1 draw vs. Arsenal (Jan. 4)
-- Tim Weah (Juventus; Italy Serie A) - 4 minutes as a substitute in 2-1 loss vs. A.C. Milan in Italian Super Cup (Jan. 3)
-- Caleb Wiley (Strasbourg; French Ligue 1) - Injured, DNP in 3-1 win vs. Auxerre (Jan. 5)
-- Haji Wright (Coventry City; Championship) - Injured, DNP in 2-1 win at Norwich City (Jan. 4); Injured, DNP in 1-1 draw at Cardiff City (Jan. 1)
