Americans Abroad: USMNT star Christian Pulisic scores brace to save Milan, while Sergino Dest makes long-awaited PSV return

It looked as if it was going to be another embarrassing day for Milan. Form has fallen off a cliff, leading to rumors that new coach Sergio Coinceicao could be gone as soon as this summer. Massimiliano Allegri has already reportedly been named as a potential successor. That's how far gone things had gotten.

Pulisic might not be able to single-handedly save Conceicao, but he sure as hell did save Milan on Saturday.

After seeing his side go 2-0 down to lowly Lecce, Pulisic won a penalty and converted it, leveling the match with Milan's second goal in five minutes. Eight minutes after that, he was on the scoresheet again, scoring first-time to give Milan a 3-1 lead that they would inevitably hold. In a matter of 13 minutes, Milan scored three times to earn three points, with Pulisic doing the heavy lifting.

It's what he's done all season long, at least when healthy. He leads Milan in goal contributions and many have come in the biggest moments. Champions League games, the Supercoppa Italiana win, come-from-behind Serie A wins - Pulisic isn't stat padding - he's making a difference.

The Nations League is on the horizon and, while he may not be in the form he was to start 2025, Pulisic is now back scoring goals, which is good news for the USMNT.

For the first time in 329 days, Dest was named to PSV's matchday squad. He took it a step further, too. By taking the field as a second-half substitute, USMNT defender is officially back.

Nearly a year after tearing his ACL, Dest made his long-awaited return to the field in PSV's 2-1 win over Heerenveen on Saturday. Very fittingly, he replaced Richy Ledezma, a longtime teammate who held down PSV's right-back spot so capably in Dest's absence.

In his 23 minutes, Dest completed all nine of his passes, dribbled past two defenders and had four passes into the final third. This was vintage Dest, even if he still has aways to go before he's truly back to his best.

It's why he was left off the USMNT's Nations League roster. Dest needs reps and minutes, although PSV are up against it in the league at the moment, they'll almost certainly give it to him. Ledezma has proven a more than capable understudy, which means Dest can be given the slower road back.

"I am immensely happy to be back," he told the club's official website. "The supporters and the players took good care of me and I'm very grateful for that. I've had that feeling for eleven months.

"Before the game, all I thought was, I want to get in and play again. Fortunately, the coach gave me a half-hour which was super nice. I also went straight into the duels and was just driven to seek them out. Of course, I have to take it easy and be careful, but it felt good."

Dest had to re-learn how to run - literally.

"The months were tough, but I had to accept it and keep going with a positive mindset," he said. "I had to learn to run again, train a lot and keep connecting with the team. The time was not easy and it took a long time, but I had a lot of support from the staff, players and supporters. Now I can show myself again."

If you blinked, you might have missed it. Sargent's goal came just a few minutes into Friday's match, before many could even get their live stream of the game going. If you missed it, though, no worries - it's nothing you haven't seen countless times in recent weeks.

You can make it eight in eight for Sargent, who netted just moments into Norwich's 1-1 draw with Oxford United. The good run of form continues and it's happening at the right moment for Sargent, who is going to get a very real chance with the USMNT in the Nations League. There's no one in his way this time. Sargent is the guy.

As for Norwich, though, it's looking a bit dire. With the two dropped points against an Oxford team below them in the table, Norwich sit 10th, six points out of a playoff spot. The race for that spot is tightening and every loss or draw is a missed chance. Sargent's future could very well depend on how that race ends up, and it's clear that the Canaries will need more than a few Sargent goals to make this final push.

Some numbers: In Saturday's 1-0 win over Ipswich Town, Crystal Palace and USMNT defender Chris Richards completed more passes than anyone on the field. He had more tackles, five, than anyone else, too. Duels? He won more than anyone else with 10. You can add in five clearances and a pair of blocks, too. Those stats paint a clear picture: Richards did just about everything right in the shutout win.

It's become a theme with Richards, who has clearly taken a leap forward this season. Dating back to the start of February, Palace have now won six of seven in all competitions, with Richards being a key in just about every one of those wins. Manchester United, Aston Villa, Fulham - all have fallen to Palace. All have been stifled by Richards and the Palace defense.

For several years, the 24-year-old centerback has been hailed as a future USMNT defensive star. We've seen him take small steps forward, but there was always an expectation that a bigger one would happen someday. Someday is clearly now, as Richards is becoming one hell of a defender right before our eyes.

Weston McKennie played a part in Juve's demise on Sunday, and, boy, was it an ugly demise. A harsh handball call on the American kickstarted a trainwreck of a day for Juventus, who were fully exposed as a Serie A pretender by one of the league's better teams.

Atalanta walked into Turin and took Juve's lunch money, blasting them 4-0 in front of their own fans. Their first came from that aforementioned McKennie handball and Atalanta never let up. Realistically, it could have been more if not for several huge stops from Michele Di Gregorio in Juventus' goal. It was a complete disaster, the type of result that will all but end Juve's hopes of achieving much of anything this season.

The Old Lady are nine points behind league-leaders Inter. The trophy hopes are likely done. Top four is now all Juve will really have to play for. If Sunday was any indication, that won't be particularly easy, either. It's been a rough few weeks for Juventus, who followed up their Champions League elimination with this disasterclass. They had been good in the league, climbing back into the title race with several wins in a row.

What a thud this was, then, as they were crushed by one of the teams they hoped to chase down. In a season that's already had some big lows, this might have been the lowest.

+ Tyler Adams and Bournemouth were seemingly cruising against Tottenham, but the Cherries gave up a two-goal lead to draw 2-2. Adams played all 90 minutes.

+ A big step for Caleb Wiley, who made his Watford debut off the bench with a 20-minute cameo. The on-loan defender had previously been nursing an injury that ended his temporary spell at Strasbourg.

+ It was a rough day for Antonee Robinson and Fulham, who conceded a 98th-minute penalty to fall 2-1 at Brighton. Robinson created a chance, but didn't find a teammate on any of his seven crosses.

+ Despite the chaos surrounding the club, Tanner Tessmann maintained his place in midfield for Lyon's 2-0 win over Nice. He played all 90 minutes, while former Atlanta United midfielder Thiago Almada assisted both of Lyon's goals.

+ Gio Reyna remained on the bench while Noahkai Banks came on late to help Augsburg seal a 1-0 win over Borussia Dortmund.

+ Haji Wright played 23 minutes for Coventry City, who made it five consecutive wins with a last-gasp winner to earn a 3-2 triumph over Stoke City. Wright only had seven touches on the day.

+ Johnny Cardoso put in another big shift in midfield for Real Betis, who earned a 1-0 win over 10-man Las Palmas.

+ Ethan Horvath started and made three saves in Cardiff City's 2-1 loss to Sunderland.

+ Another big clean sheet for Celtic and their USMNT duo. Both Auston Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers started as Celtic took down Hibernian, 2-0, at home in the FA Cup quarterfinal.

+ Aidan Morris was one of few standouts for Middlesbrough in a 2-1 loss to Swansea City. The midfielder had the most tackles in the match (four) while also winning the most duels (nine) and drawing the most fouls (four).

+ Daryl Dike was a 78th-minute sub as he helped 10-man West Brom survive to earn a 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers.

+ Lennard Maloney came on in the final moments to help Mainz see out a 3-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach. Joe Scally was suspended for the Gladbach defeat.

+ Toulouse left it for late, but got a 91st-minute equalizer to earn a 1-1 draw with Monaco. Mark McKenzie went all 90 minutes in Toulouse's back three, winning nine of his 13 duels while also providing nine clearances and two tackles.

+ Paxten Aaronson was relatively quiet in a big Utrecht win as they scored an 85th-minute winner to take down Willem II, 3-2.