Americans Abroad: Christian Pulisic's injury woes, Tim Weah and Juventus' tough night and PSV's USMNT goal explosion

Mauricio Pochettino was hammering the point home as early as October. Before he'd even managed a USMNT match, Pochettino was speaking about the importance of protecting Christian Pulisic.

Pochettino's words proved unfortunately prophetic. After several months of leading the charge for club and country, Pulisic's body finally broke down. The USMNT star was forced off in the first half of Milan's loss to Atalanta, and it was later confirmed that he'd sustained a calf injury.

The American star is now expected to miss the final few weeks of 2024, which isn't ideal but isn't a total blow for Milan, either. Pulisic is rather fortunate that the injury appears to be relatively manageable, although, given their place in Serie A, Milan will need to pick up a lot of slack and find results where they can without the USMNT star.

This feels like a warning shot from the soccer gods. Pochettino was aware of it when he called for Pulisic to be rested in October. Now, that message has been driven home with this injury setback.

If you're a fan of the USMNT and you aren't following along with PSV every week, you're missing out. The team's American stars are in the spotlight, and it's usually because of a wild goal or two.

On Friday, it wasn't a goal or two, though; it was three. Ricardo Pepi, Malik Tillman and Richy Ledezma each scored one a piece, leading the way in a 6-1 win over FC Twente. No matter how commonplace it's become with this team in recent weeks, it still seems surreal to see so many American players scoring week in and week out at this level.

PSV are running riot through the Eredivisie, with the club's Americans leading the charge. Pepi is second in the Golden Boot race. Tillman is fourth. Ledezma has carved out a role with Sergino Dest still waiting in the wings as he continues his road to recovery. It's already been a special season for PSV and, for American fans, there's plenty of reason to tune in so you don't miss the next goal explosion.

It's been a weird few weeks for Juventus. RIght now, the Bianconeri just can't really find ways to win games, and that was the story on Saturday, too. Heavily favored against Bologna, Juve had to claw their way back to earn a 2-2 draw thanks to a late equalizer from Samuel Mbangula.

This, in general, wasn't pretty. Thiago Motta and Juventus still have a lot to figure out.

Moving Tim Weah back out wide was helpful, although he didn't look fully comfortable starting on the left-hand side. Weah picked up an early yellow and walked a tightrope all game long, struggling to really impact the attack in his 80 minutes. It just wasn't his day and, if not for two late goals, it wouldn't have been Juve's either.

Right now, something is off with this team. The return of Dusan Vlahovic has helped the attack, but things are still flat. The midfield doesn't feel totally right without Weston Mckennie. Defensively, Juve haven't been as solid as they need to be if they want to be legitimate Serie A contenders.

Right now, they aren't that, and all involved have a bit of work to do to get there.

There was a sequence in the final moments of Fulham's 1-1 draw with Arsenal Sunday in which Antonee Robinson went bursting forward. Wearing the captain's armband, Robinson darted forward on a 50-yard run, tracking down a ball that few on the field would have any reason to chase.

It was a perfect symbol of what Robinson brings to Fulham, and the perfect demonstration of why he's been handed the armband in Tom Cairney's absence.

Facing off with Bukayo Saka, Robinson was fantastic all game long as Fulham picked up a huge point against a title contender. Aside from one sequence in which a Saka goal was ruled out, Robinson really kept a lock on the Arsenal winger while making a few lung-busting runs forward himself to keep the Gunners defense honest.

By the end, Robinson had whipped in four crosses, made five passes into the final third, provided five clearances, made three interceptions and won eight of 13 duels. He was all over the field all through the 90 minutes.

It was a captain-worthy performance from Fulham's fill-in captain, who continues to play like one of the best in the Premier League.

Given his history over the last two years or so, there was reason to be concerned when Tyler Adams was left out of Bournemouth's XI to face Ipswich Town. Turns out, though, it was actually some long-awaited common sense.

"Tyler has played two 90s this week already," said Bournemouth Andoni Iraola. "He finished the other day with cramps everywhere. With just a very, very short turnaround, it didn't make any sense to take any risk with him."

Finally, someone makes the right choice when it comes to Adams' recovery and fitness. There's no rush here, largely because we've already seen what happens when Adams rushes. The key is for Adams to be healthy all season long, not just for a game against Ipswich Town.

It's a reminder that, at times, Adams will need to be managed, particularly as we enter this congested season. It's still too risky to run him into the ground, even if that's what he, as a competitor, wants more than anything.

Good for Iraola to make the sensible decision, even if it is a little bit difficult to make in the moment.

+ Gio Reyna only saw a few minutes at the end, but Borussia Dortmund were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach. Joe Scally went 90 minutes on the other side, putting in a solid shift at right-back.

+ Crystal Palace sealed a huge 2-2 draw with Manchester City, but neither of the club's Americans contributed. Both Chris Richards and Matt Turner were unused subs.

+ Brenden Aaronson put in a solid shift as Leeds cruised past Derby County 2-0. Aaronson created three chances and had three shots of his own in the Leeds' win.

+ Unsurprisingly, Celtic smashed Hibernian 3-0 with American Auston Trusty in the starting XI. Fellow USMNT defender Cameron Carter-Vickers remained on the bench.

+ Lennard Maloney went all 90 minutes in Heidenheim's clash with Bayern Munich. While Maloney's team put up a fight, they still suffered a 4-2 loss to the Bundesliga giants.

+ No Folarin Balogun, again, for Monaco, but they made short work of Mark McKenzie and Toulouse, winning 2-0 at home.

+Tanner Tessmann got a brief cameo in Lyon's 3-0 win over Angers. The American came off the bench for the final eight minutes, replacing former Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic.