Americans Abroad: USMNT stars Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah huge for Milan, Brandon Austin in spotlight for Tottenham

Friday's Supercoppa Italiana semifinal seemed a must-win for both Juventus and Milan. Yes, it's a random midseason tournament. Yes, it was being played in Saudi Arabia. And, no, winning this would have no real bearing on the Serie A season. But in terms of vibes, both teams really needed something positive.

Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah provided that positivity, contributing to both late goals in Milan's 2-1 win. Pulisic scored his from the penalty spot. Musah banked his off Federico Gatti and into the back of the net. Neither was particularly pretty, but both were very effective as Milan escaped with a come-from-behind win that books their spot in the finale.

For Milan, it was a perfect start under new coach Sergio Conceicao. There were certainly questions about both Pulisic and Musah entering his tenure, but both showed plenty in the new boss' first game. They face an uphill battle to get back in Serie A's top four, but they'll hope this win over Juve, and a potential trophy lift against rivals Inter, could turn their season around.

And for Juve? They too find themselves in a odd place. They're still unbeaten in the league but staring up at the top four, due to all of their Serie A draws. It's unlikely they'll collect a trophy this season as McKennie and team look to salvage the season. It didn't come this weekend. Back to the drawing board for Juve, as Milan push on for a chance at a trophy.

It was a special weekend for Antonee Robinson. The Fulham star was surprised with U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year honors, recognizing his spectacular 2024. He earned it, too. Robinson has long been one of the USMNT's most consistent stars, and now he has hardware to show for that consistency.

Unfortunately, the good feelings didn't fully carry over into Sunday's game against struggling Ipswich as Fulham had to come from behind in a 2-2 draw.

Robinson played his usual sort of game, getting up and down the line often. He had plenty of touches, plenty of passes and numerous crosses in the attacking third. He also had a few good defensive moments, too. The endless energy was there, as it always is, even if Fulham never quite got it together against a team they should have beaten.

Given the circumstances, they'll take a point, though. Two Raul Jimenez penalties, including one in stoppage time, were just enough. Three would have been great as they push for Europe, but sometimes you take what you can get.

As for Robinson, there isn't much time to celebrate his USMNT honor. Fulham are back at it on Thursday against Watford in the FA Cup. Everything is moving quickly now, even for the Player of the Year.

Brandon Austin has had a wild journey, to put it mildly. The former U.S. youth international was in the spotlight, though, as he finally got his moment at his boyhood club.

Faced with a goalkeeping crisis, Tottenham turned to Austin the club's third-string goalkeeper. At 25, Austin made his first appearance for Tottenham, making two saves in a 2-1 loss to Newcastle. It was a loss for Tottenham but, when taking into account his path to this moment, it had to seem a win for Austin.

A Spurs academy product, Austin never actually played for Tottenham. In fact, despite his age, he'd played just 19 professional games - 14 came at Viborg in 2019-20, and five with Orlando City in 2021.

Ever since, he's been waiting.

Austin is a former U.S. U18 goalkeeper, having represented the U.S. back in 2017. Given his lack of activity, he obviously fell out of the player pool, and one start against Newcastle won't bring him back. It is, however, a feel-good story for a player who fought and fought for this moment and, when it came, he rose to give his team a chance.

Auston Trusty doesn't score many goals, so Sunday's finish will be meaningful for the USMNT centerback. The defender headed home his first Celtic goal, finishing from a corner to give his side a 2-0 lead in a straight-forward win over St. Mirren.

The goal was just the ninth of his career, although it is his second of the season, having scored a cup goal for Sheffield United before making his move to Scotland during the summer transfer window.

Trusty's finish comes after a run of four games out of the Celtic XI. On Sunday, he was slotted alongside fellow American Cameron Carter-Vickers. The two have shown plenty of chemistry when paired together, although the talent difference between Celtic and the rest of the Scottish league has to be taken into account when assessing them.

It was was a big moment for Trusty, who showed his new club what he can do on both sides of the field as he continues to adjust to life in Glasgow.

Sometimes as a defender, you've simply have to admit you got cooked - and Chris Richards got cooked by Jadon Sancho. Call it a workplace hazard. These things happen. It's all about the response, though, and Richards did that, as well.

After playing a role in Chelsea's early goal by Sancho, Richards made several big plays down the stretch to help Crystal Palace to a 1-1 draw with Chelsea. There was a fantastic tackle on Nicolas Jackson early on. He won several big headers, too. Richards also nearly got a goal of his own at one point, although it wasn't to be.

Yes, Richards had a bad moment on the Sancho sequence, and it'll no doubt replay in his head over and over again. It's the life of a defender, where the worst moments are often the defining ones. Richards bounced back, and his team got a huge result because of it.

Brenden Aaronson and Leeds are in a good place. Atop the Championship, they seem favorites for a return to the Premier League, a place where a club of that size likely belongs.

They really made a mess of things this weekend, though. Up two goals with less than 10 minutes remaining, Leeds threw it away, showing that this team still has a lot of work to do. Late goals from Joao Pedro and Abu Kamara sealed a stunning comeback from Hull, who earned a point from the 3-3 draw. Goalkeeper Ilan Meslier was a key culprit in the Leeds collapse.

Aaronson was relatively quiet by his standards. He created three chances but completed just 15 of his 22 passes. On another day, one of those could have been an assist, but it wasn't to be. Ultimately, Leeds' two-goal cushion wasn't enough to put the game to bed.

No reason to panic at Elland Road, of course. Aaronson and Leeds are just fine, but they would be feeling better with two extra points in their back pocket.

+ Bournemouth continue to roll as the Cherries have their sites on a European spot. With the 1-0 win over Everton, the Cherries are up to seventh in the Premier League. Tyler Adams played the last 20 minutes in that win, ultimately helping Bournemouth hold onto their three points.

+ Venezia could have used three points after scoring early against Empoli. Instead, they settled for one in a 1-1 draw. Gianluca Busio put in a strong shift in midfield, playing a complete game with one chance created and four passes into the final third to go with several vital defensive interventions.

+ Lyon left it late as a last-gasp own goal led them past Montpellier. Tanner Tessmann was on the field for that own goal, having come on as a 75th-minute substitute.

+ Another strong shift for Johnny Cardoso, who completed 94 percent of his passes and won three tackles in Real Betis' 1-0 win over SD Huesca in the Copa del Rey.

+ Mark Mckenzie and Toulouse preserved a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over 10-man Lens. McKenzie was strong defensively, providing nine clearances while winning four of his six duels.