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Giovanni Reyna brace sets up DFB-Pokal final against Tyler Adams' Leipzig

Giovanni Reyna Borussia Dortmund May 2021

With just over a month of domestic soccer left, numerous American stars continue to attract attention and make headlines across Europe.

An abundance of young talent is amongst the United States men's national team (USMNT) ranks, such as Giovanni Reyna, Sergino Dest and Christian Pulisic.

Those stars continue to perform on Europe's biggest stages and are all in contention for some form of silverware at the end of the season.

Alongside those names, there are other stars such as Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie, making the USMNT a serious force to be reckoned with in future.

While the 2022 FIFA World Cup may prove too soon - Paddy Power has them as 60/1 outsiders - Planet Sport remains following the Americans playing for some of Europe's largest clubs.

Giovanni Reyna

May 1, Borussia Dortmund 5-0 Holstein Kiel

Reyna caused chaos in the first half against the German second-tier defence, frequently occupying smart positions inside the right-hand channel to drag his opposite man out of position.

The American youngster opened the scoring for the hosts, powering a right-footed strike into the bottom right corner from the edge of the area, after a driving run inside by Jadon Sancho.

A second goal of the game followed for Reyna and Dortmund as the 18-year-old grabbed a brace with the simplest of tap-ins inside the six-yard area, courtesy of Marco Reus' earlier blocked chance.

Given Edin Terzic's team were five goals to the good at half-time, Reyna was substituted off during the break, perhaps with a focus on a crucial Bundesliga fixture against RB Leipzig next up.

Thanks to Reyna's brace and the 5-0 victory, Dortmund coasted through to the DFB-Pokal final for the first time since 2017, in which they will face Tyler Adams' RB Leipzig.

This guarantees more silverware this season for the USA men's national team roster, who already boast the EFL Cup and Copa del Rey in their virtual trophy cabinet.

Before the final, however, Dortmund will be keen to carry on their good form - having won their last four league games - to secure Champions League qualification for next season.

Rating: 8/10

Antonee Robinson

May 1, Chelsea 2-0 Fulham

Fulham's relegation back to the Championship is yet to be confirmed despite going down 2-0 to Thomas Tuchel's men on Saturday.

Robinson was a bright spark in an otherwise quiet Cottagers team, regularly roaming down the left-hand channel and dueling against the impressive Reece James.
Antonee Robinson Fulham

Robinson and James engaged in a great contest on the left-hand flank on Saturday

As has been the case all season, with better finishing from some of his team-mates, Robinson could have had an assist or two as he caused problems with his teasing left-footed deliveries towards Edouard Mendy's goal.

Defensively, Robinson matched James' speed and runs, while also contending well with the quality of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz.

With Scott Parker's men unlikely to be playing top-flight soccernext season, speculation will increase as to Robinson's future, given his solid debut campaign in the Premier League.

Rating: 6.5/10

Tim Ream

May 1, Chelsea 2-0 Fulham

Ream's future may well benefit from Fulham's seemingly imminent relegation, considering his knowledge of the Championship and recent success with the Cottagers in the division.
While it remains unclear if the likes of Tosin Adarabioyo and Joachim Andersen will stay with Parker's side next season, Ream could come into their plans as they look to instantly bounce back.

Unsurprisingly, given Parker's preference for the Adarabioyo and Andersen pairing, Ream remained an unused substitute as he watched Chelsea coast to a 2-0 victory.

With hopes of a positive international summer with USA, Ream still has a chance to show Parker, or any other potential suitors, that he is still cut out for the job.

Rating: N/A

Christian Pulisic

May 1, Chelsea 2-0 Fulham

Pulisic wasn't needed by Tuchel as the Blues all but confirmed his American colleagues' relegation from the Premier League.

Perhaps as a reward for his strong performance against Real Madrid or, more likely, with an eye on Pulisic's fitness, the American remained on the bench. However, he will surely return to the Blues' Champions League starting line-up in midweek.

His opener in midweek against Zinedine Zidane's men made him the United States' joint-highest scorer in the Champions League (five) and he will be hoping to replicate his performance to send Chelsea through to the final.

As for the Premier League, Chelsea's qualification for the Champions League season looks increasingly likely, owing to Pulisic and his team-mates upturn in form since Tuchel's appointment.

Rating: N/A

Weston McKennie

May 2, Udinese 1-2 Juventus

After countless appearances off the bench for Andrea Pirlo's side, McKennie got the chance to start for Juventus, who collected just their fourth away win of the Serie A campaign.

In the first half, McKennie headed wide from point-blank range, much to the frustration of his team-mates, who seemed to suggest that the midfielder should have done better from the opportunity.

While working hard and covering a lot of ground, McKennie's performance lacked the necessary final quality in midfield to open up the Udinese defence.
Despite this, the American midfielder played 83 minutes, operating from box-to-box before his removal.

Rating: 6/10

Josh Sargent

April 30, Werder Bremen 1-2 RB Leipzig

Meeting up with fellow American Adams in the DFB-Pokal semi-final, Sargent squandered the best chance of the first half as he placed his effort wide of the target.

Another 45 minutes couldn't separate the two sides, so the tie went to extra time to decide the 2021 DFB-Pokal finalists.

With Sargent operating in a deeper role again, he saw a lot of the ball when Bremen did have it. However, that was on limited occasions given Leipzig's possessional dominance.

Heartbreak followed at the end of extra time for Sargent and his side as Emil Forsberg snuck a late winner to send his side through to the final.

After some poor performances in recent weeks, Sargent and Bremen will be encouraged by their semi-final showing, in which they went toe-to-toe with the second best side in German soccer at the minute.

Rating: 6.5/10

Tyler Adams

April 30, Werder Bremen 1-2 RB Leipzig

Adams was awarded a rare rest of Leipzig struggled past a well-disciplined Werder Bremen side, containing international colleague Sargent, in the DFB-Pokal semi-final.

Despite their Bundesliga title challenge being all but over, Leipzig have a chance to collect silverware this season as they face Reyna's side in the DFB-Pokal final in two weeks.
For the final, it will be likely Adams returns to the side and Julian Nagelsmann may even consider resting some star players in the league to prepare for the Dortmund cup clash.

Rating: N/A

Sergino Dest

May 2, Valencia 2-3 Barcelona

Despite not starting in midweek against Granada, Dest got the nod ahead of Sergio Roberto, who has only just returned from injury.

With Jordi Alba regularly creating chances down the left-hand channel, Dest didn't see as much of the ball as Barcelona's midfield regularly looked to the opposite flank.

A powering run down the right-hand channel in the first half was unlucky to be halted by Gabriel, but apart from that it was a quiet showing from the American.

Up against arguably Valencia's best player and captain, Jose Gaya, Dest struggled against the left-back. This was largely as a result of the Gaya's aggressive attacking runs which pushed Dest back into a more defensive role.

Nevertheless, a Lionel Messi brace and tap-in from Antoine Griezmann saw the visitors squeeze past a spirited Valencia side, moving Ronald Koeman's men within two points of league leaders Atletico Madrid.

Dest's side face leaders Atletico next weekend in a match that could shape the destination of the title. However, Real Madrid and Sevilla, in third and fourth, still look to have a part to play as La Liga shapes up for a thrilling finale.

Rating: 6.5/10

Deandre Yedlin

May 2, Genclerbirligi 0-2 Galatasaray

Yedlin, despite concerns over his leg injury, returned to training in midweek and Galatasaray will be hoping he returns to the starting XI before the end of the season.

A 2-0 away victory keeps the visitors' faint Super Lig title hopes alive, albeit they are six points behind first-placed Besiktas with three games to go.

Rating: N/A

Daryl Dike

May 1, Preston 2-0 Barnsley

As Barnsley confirmed their play-off spot in the Championship last time out, it came as no surprise they produced a fairly lethargic performance at Preston.

With the hosts running out 2-0 winners, Dike endured a tough day, regularly up against a three-man defence who offered him little to no chances throughout.
A yellow card in the 72nd minute, perhaps more for the verbal exchange with the referee than the actual foul, only made the American's frustrating day worse.

Nevertheless, Dike and Barnsley have one more league game to go before they find out their play-off opponents.

Rating: 6/10

Chris Richards

Hoffenheim and Richards weren't in action this weekend as there was a gap in the Bundesliga scheduling.
Chris Richards Hoffenheim

Richards will be hoping for a positive end of the season to increase his already growing reputation in Bundesliga

The rest comes at perhaps the best time for Richards, who went off injured in the last match, allowing him enough time to make a recovery before the season's finale.
Hoffenheim return to action against Schalke next week as they look to improve on their 11th-placed standing in Bundesliga.

With Nagelsmann's appointment at Bayern Munich confirmed, it will be interesting to see whether Richards has a future for the Bavarians or whether he may need to move on to get more opportunities.

Given the likes of Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate are leaving Leipzig in the summer, the American centre-back may be on their transfer targets, setting up a potential link-up with fellow American Adams.

Rating: N/A

Matthew Hoppe

A blank gameweek for Schalke meant Hoppe didn't feature this weekend in the Bundesliga.
With Schalke already relegated, they may be glad for the rest and a chance to recuperate before their next game against Chris Richards' Hoffenheim.
Hoppe's future remains in doubt for the soon to be 2. Bundesliga side, with speculation persisting around a move away as Schalke continue to prefer Klass Jan Hunterlaar up top.

Rating: N/A

Tim Weah

May 1, Lille 2-0 Nice

Weah was only fit enough for a place as an unused substitute on Saturday.

Christophe Galtier's men cruised to a 2-0 victory over 10-man Nice, leaving them a point ahead of second-placed Paris Saint-German with three Ligue 1 games left to play.

With Burak Yilmaz and Jonathan David in scintillating form, it is unlikely that Weah's fitness would guarantee him a place in the side anyway so the American forward may have to remain patient for his return.

Rating: N/A

Bryan Reynolds

May 2, Sampdoria 2-0 Roma

After a crushing 6-2 Europa League semi-final defeat against Manchester United, Roma returned to Serie A with a disappointing 2-0 loss to Sampdoria.

Having started a couple of games for the visitors, it appears Reynolds has fallen down the pecking order with Davide Santon and Bruno Peres preferred ahead of him.

The American full-back again remained an unused substitute as his team succumbed to another loss on the road, keeping them in seventh place in Serie A.

Rating: N/A

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