Americans Abroad: Christian Pulisic delivers in AC Milan’s Napoli win, Gladbach's Joe Scally makes USMNT case

Sunday was a statement game for Milan. Riding a strong start to the season, Milan had a date with Napoli, another Serie A contender. Win and maybe the world would believe and Milan was for real. Lose? Well, same old Milan.

In those types of games, it's vital that a team's best player steps up. That happened on Sunday, as Pulisic led from the front by playing his part in both goals.

The first was a picture-perfect assist just three minutes in.. It came after he broke free on the left-hand side, showing off his pace to drive the ball forward. Then came the pass, a ball right across the goal line to Alexis Saelemaekers that left little more than a tap-in.

Pulisic then got a goal of his own before the first half was over, netting his fourth goal in just three games. It proved vital. A second-half red card to Pervis Estupinan also handed Napoli a penalty but, despite the man disadvantage, Milan held onto the 2-1 lead after Kevin De Bruyne buried that spot kick with 30 minutes remaining in the match.

So, does this mean Milan is for real? Quite possibly. Pulisic, himself, appeared to allude to higher expectations for the club.

"It sends a message for sure,” Pulisic told CBS Sports Golazo after the result. “That we’re a good team, we’re a strong team, you know we can score goals, but we can defend like this. And we have a good spirit and I think it shows a lot for sure.”

As long as Pulisic is in this form, the answer is probably "yes." Right now, Milan have Serie A's most undefendable player. Pulisic proved that again on Sunday.

The questions about Joe Scally are almost universally on the attacking side of the ball. One performance doesn't answer those questions, of course, but the right back showed he can be a factor on that end of the pitch Saturday. 

Scally provided two assists in Borussia Monchengladbach's 6-4 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt in what was surely the weekend's craziest game. While Gladbach were, in general, horrific defensively, Scally made some uncharacteristic contributions on the attacking end, setting up Gladbach's first and last goals from a right wingback position.

With the U.S. switching to a similar five-at-the-back look last camp, Scally's place seems far from guaranteed. He isn't traditionally an attacking presence. There are also options like Alex Freeman, Max Arfsten and even Tim Weah or Yunus Musah that can fill roles in those wide spots. Scally has a fight to earn a World Cup spot, even with his own versatility. 

Those assists help.

In truth, a bulk of the credit goes to Ben Brereton Diaz. It was his touch and long-range finish that made the goal what it was, earning Derby County a 1-1 draw with Wrexham. But Patrick Agyemang's part in it has to be acknowledged, too, as he provided an assist that offered a good glimpse into what he can offer for his new club.

Agyemang's assist was a flicked on header, one that put Brereton Diaz through. From there, the Chilean international did the rest. Yet, it was Agyemang's play that helped Brereton Diaz make something out of nothing. That, at his core, is what the American forward can do: make things happen from nowhere due to his unique combination of physical and mental skillsets.

After making the big move to the Championship this summer, Agyemang is just getting started. This was his first start and just his third appearance but, in those three appearances, he's already provided two assists. Despite lacking fitness and sharpness, Agyemang is finding a way to impact games, which is a good sign for a player that will experience a crazy learning curve in his first season abroad.

Over the last year or so, Liverpool have generally ran rampant through the Premier League. Few teams have given them problems. After this weekend, though, there's no arguing that Chris Richards and Crystal Palace are the biggest thorn in Arne Slot's side.

After already toppling the Reds in the Community Shield, Palace took it to Liverpool again, netting a late winner to earn a 2-1 win. Richards, again, was generally solid, although his inability to clear did lead to Liverpool's goal. Outside of that, though, the Palace defense was near perfect, effectively silencing stars Mohammed Salah and Alexander Isak throughout the game.

It continues Palace's insane run of form. The club has not lost a competitive match since April, claiming two trophies since while pushing all the way up to third to start this new Premier League season. In total, the run extends 18 games in all competitions. The continuing rise of Richards has played a big part in that, as the defender continues to impress alongside fellow stalwarts Marc Guehi and Maxence Lacroix in defense.

Defensively sound and talented enough in attack to scare even top sides like Liverpool, Palace are one of the Premier League's most dangerous teams. 

Heading into September camp, everything was going right for Josh Sargent. Heading into October camp, his fortunes have taken a turn.

Sargent had a few looks at goal, but was unable to find the net in Norwich's 1-1 draw with Stoke City. With that, Sargent has now been scoreless in all three post-September camp games, having scored in each of the five leading up to this month's gathering. Making matters worse? Norwich haven't won any of those three games, drawing Stoke and Coventry while losing, 3-2, to Wrexham in between.

The mini-drought comes at an inconvenient time as the striker competition continues to sort itself out. Unfortunately for Sargent, any hope of climbing the ranks will have to be centered around undeniable club form and, heading towards October, he doesn't have that going for him. There still could be a chance or two for him, for sure, but the margin for error is slim.

He'll still have two more games to get a goal pre-camp, should he get called in. He could certainly use one to get back going.

+ Malik Tillman started and won more duels than any other player, helping lead Bayer Leverkusen to a 2-1 win over St. Pauli. James Sands played a full 90 for St. Pauli in the defeat.

+ Antonee Robinson played the final 10 minutes of Fulham's 3-1 loss to Aston Villa, coming in only once the game was already out of hand.

+ No goal for the in-form Tanner Tessmann, but the midfielder did play well in Lyon's 1-0 victory at Lille.

+ Aaronson played a part in setting up a goal in Leeds' 2-2 draw with Bournemouth. Tyler Adams started on the other side.

+ There was no separating Weston McKennie's Juventus and Yunus Musah's Atalanta as both came off the bench in a 1-1 draw.

+ Ricardo Pepi was forced out 32 minutes into PSV's 2-1 win over Excelsior.  According to PSV boss Peter Bosz, the substitution was precautionary.

+ Noahkai Banks came off the bench to play the final 31 minutes of Augsburg's 2-1 loss to FC Heidenheim.

+ Gianluca Busio put in a strong shift in midfield as Venezia picked up a 2-0 win over 10-man Spezia.

+ Jonathan Klinsmann made one save in Cesena's 1-1 draw with Palermo.

+ Cameron Carter-Vickers and Celtic kept a clean sheet, but the Scottish giants couldn't find a goal on the other end in a 0-0 draw with Hibernian.

+ Aidan Morris started and played 72 minutes in Norwich's 1-1 draw with Southampton. Damion Downs did not feature.

+ Haji Wright had a quiet game by his standards, as he was held scoreless in Coventry City's 3-0 win over 10-man Birmingham City.

+ Mark McKenzie went all 90 minutes as part of Toulouse's back three in a back-and-fourth 2-2 draw with Nantes.

+ George Campbell started and played 90 minutes as West Brom conceded late to settle for a 1-1 draw with Leicester City.

+ Tim Weah played 58 minutes on the wing as Marseille came from behind to earn a 2-1 win over Strasbourg through two late goals.