AMSTERDAM – Four Americans took to European fields on Sunday, with Bolton midfielder Stuart Holden firing the 88th-minute winner in a 2-1 derby victory over Blackburn at the Reebok.
The US international returned from two weeks on the injury shelf with 90 strong minutes to garner his third Sky Sports Man of the Match prize in less than two months.
Straight from the kickoff that resulted from Mame Biram Diouf's Rovers equalizer, Holden ran onto a Kevin Davies long ball knockdown to rifle a half-volley just inside the near post to keep Wanderers in sixth place.
Meanwhile, Marcus Hahnemann served as back-up netminder as Wolverhampton climbed out of the EPL cellar with a 1-0 derby triumph over Birmingham City.
Across the channel in France, Carlos Bocanegra ably went the distance at left back as Saint-Étienne jumped four spots to seventh in the table with a 2-0 win at Monaco.
Next door in Germany, Michael Bradley was foiled by the keeper on two good chances in Borussia Mönchengladbach's 3-0 defeat at Freiburg.
Finally, in Belgium, Sacha Kljestan worked the opening 57 minutes as Anderlecht slipped to second in the Jupiler League after having to settle for a 0-0 draw with 10-man visitors Lokeren.
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