Americans Abroad: Sergino Dest, Josh Sargent and Haji Wright continue to post big numbers, while Christian Pulisic can't save AC Milan from an historic loss

Only Pochettino knows why he left Josh Sargent off the Gold Cup squad. He described it as an "football decision," and fair enough. Pochettino clearly wanted a look at other players this summer, and Sargent was a victim of that.

Pochettino, though, has to be absolutely thrilled with Sargent's response. It's been about as emphatic as possible. 

It's four games, four goals for Sargent now, three of which have come in the Championship. He's gotten on the board in each of Norwich's four competitive fixtures and, despite mixed results, Sargent continues to show he's likely the Championship's most reliable goalscorer.

The latest came in a 2-1 loss to Middlesbrough, and in another game in which Sargent saw little of the ball. He had just 25 touches, the fewest of any player that went the full 90. But despite that, he got his goal and completed more dribbles (three) than anyone else on the field. Sargent, to put it lightly, is making a lot out of a little.

It's been impressive, and Pochettino will certainly be getting a look at it up close this fall, as Sargent has made himself impossible to ignore.

Not to be outdone by Sargent, Haji Wright has been equally as dominant this season. And, while Norwich haven't been able to make the most of Sargent's goals, Coventry City certainly have.

The club made it two wins out of three this weekend, and did it in style as they ran over QPR in a 7-1 win. Wright scored twice in that win, netting in the 12th and 37th minutes to trigger the avalanche that was to come. With those goals, Wright has three in the Championship for the season, having also scored in last weekend's 5-3 win over Derby County.

It's early days, yes, but Coventry have clearly been the Championship's most gung-ho team, with Wright playing a huge part in making that happen. Just as Sargent has made his case for a USMNT spot, so too, has Wright, who was unlucky to suffer an injury early into his Gold Cup run. That's behind him, paving the way for a USMNT return soon.

Another week, another goal contribution, and that makes Sergino Dest the most interesting player in the USMNT pool heading towards the international break.

In four appearances, including the Supercup to open the season, Dest now has two goals and an assist, not to mention a direct contribution to an own goal in the one game where he didn't log an official contribution. His most recent came on Saturday, as he set up Esmir Bajraktarevic's finish just after halftime, helping PSV to a 4-2 win over Groningen.

Dest wasn't the only American story in that match. Ricardo Pepi made his long-awaited return from a knee injury, coming off the bench, getting five minutes and a few touches under his belt. PSV missed both Pepi and Dest down the stretch last season and, while the former may not quite be ready, the latter is looking like one of the most dangerous weapons in the Eredivisie.

That all comes as Dest nears the end of an extended USMNT absence, one that should likely end in just a few short days. Pochettino will have no worries about his fitness, confidence or form, though, as Dest is playing arguably the best soccer of his career.

This wasn't the start Milan would have imagined. Starting the season at home against lowly Cremonese fresh off a Coppa Italia win last weekend, Milan were huge favorites. They were also, in the end, the losing side.

Milan conceded a goal in either half, ultimately losing, 2-1, to the newly-promoted side. It was a blow to a Milan team that, after finishing eighth last season, certainly wanted to start this new era in the right way. Instead, it was more of the same, if not worse.

Pulisic was one of the few bright spots, providing nearly all of Milan's attacking danger. He created four chances, a few of which could have ended up as goals if Santi Gimenez was more clinical, while firing a shot on target himself. 

This failure, meanwhile, was historic. This was Milan's first loss to Cremonese at home since October 1925. An imperfect stat, yes, given the trajectories of the two clubs in the 100 years since, but it does show just how unprecedented, and unexpected, this poor start was.

There's once again a lot of work to do in Milan and, even with Pulisic at his best, sometimes that isn't enough.

Monaco have a numerous striker options. Folarin Balogun is one of them. Injuries ruined his chance to compete for much of the last year but, on Sunday, he was given the nod in what American fans will hope is a sign of things to come.

After battling various injuries for most of last season, Balogun started at the top of Monaco's 4-2-3-1 with playmakers Takumi Minamino, Aleksandr Golovin and Maghnes Akliouche behind him. Unfortunately for Balogun, there were only a few moments of magic.

He dragged his only shot just wide and had just two touches in the box as the match ended as a 1-0 win for Lille, thanks to a stoppage-time Olivier Giroud winner. The blame, largely, won't fall to Balogun. Despite the lack of opportunities, he put in a decent shift. His runs stretched the defense and he routinely made the backline uncomfortable.

On another day, he might have had another chance to do. We'll have to see if this was enough to keep him in contention for a starting role with the USMNT, though, as it's clear that there will be a fight for minutes up top at Monaco this season.

+ John Tolkin scored his second goal in as many games, continuing his hot start to the season with Holstein Kiel in a 2-0 win over Greuther Furth.

+ Another big performance from Tanner Tessmann, who played all 90 minutes in Lyon's 3-0 crushing of Metz. Tessmann completed 94 percent of his passes and won five of his seven duels.

+ Weston McKennie made a late cameo to help Juventus see out a 2-0 win over Parma, despite going down to 10 men in the second half.

+ Antonee Robinson came into the match for the second half of Fulham's 1-1 draw with Manchester United, playing a small part in the goal sequence from that left-hand side.

+ Tyler Adams was Bournemouth's bully in midfield, putting in a strong shift while earning a yellow card in a 1-0 win over 10-man Wolves.

+ Tim Weah earned his first start for Marseille, featuring for 63 minutes in a 5-2 win over Paris FC.

+ Another step forward for Johnny Cardoso, who played 68 minutes in his second start for Atletico Madrid. Diego Simeone's side suffered through another frustrating result, though, drawing newly-promoted Elche, 1-1.

+ No debut for Gio Reyna, who didn't dress for his new side, but Joe Scally helped Borussia Monchengladbach maintain a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw with Hamburg.

+ Chris Richards had a solid game for Crystal Palace, but a second-half goal on the other side of the field led to a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest.

+ Sargent wasn't the only player to stand out in Norwich's loss to Middlesbrough, as midfielder Aidan Morris assisted Boro's eventual match-winner in their victory.

+ Damion Downs came off the bench to play the entire second half, but he couldn't quite help Southampton overcome 10-man Stoke City in a 2-1 defeat. Downs had just eight touches, but was able to muster three shots, two of which were blocked.

+ George Campbell received an early yellow card, but was able to survive and play all 90 minutes to help West Brom earn a 1-1 draw with Portsmouth.

+ James Sands played 87 minutes in midfield as St. Pauli came from behind to earn a point from a chaotic 3-3 draw with Borussia Dortmund to open their season.

+ Brenden Aaronson came off the bench, but there was little he could do to prevent Arsenal's 5-0 mauling of Leeds.

+ Mark McKenzie and Toulouse's back three were at their best as they won, 2-0, at home against Brest.

+ Kristoffer Lund started on one side while Lennard Maloney came off the bench for the other as the former's FC Koln defeated the latter's Mainz, 1-0.