AMSTERDAM - A hat trick of US internationals in early title races enjoyed exciting wins on Sunday, with Michael Bradley playing a part in both goals as Chievo knocked Genoa off the Serie A perch with a 2-1 home rally.
The midfielder's angled low cross was directed home by skipper Sergio Pellissier to start the comeback on 72 minutes. In stoppage time, Bradley's deft outlet pass to the wing picked out raiding wingback Gennaro Sardo, who crossed for sub Davide Moscardelli to bury the winner.
Bradley received a "7" rating for his full shift from Italian paper La Repubblica, their joint-top player grade for the match. The result lifted Chievo up to third place, one point shy of leaders Juventus, through four rounds.
Elsewhere, Jozy Altidore and AZ Alkmaar stand alone atop the Eredivisie after fighting back from a halftime deficit for a 2-1 triumph over visiting Feyenoord. The US striker beat an ankle knock to work a relatively quiet 69 minutes as the Cheese Farmers opened up a two-point tabletop advantage over drawn FC Twente.
Next door, Belgian Jupiler League play saw Sacha Kljetsan and Anderlecht need to dig deeper than expected to pull out a late 3-2 victory against Germinal Beerschot.
After blowing a two-goal halftime lead, the Mauves held onto second place thanks to Guillaume Gillet's 88th minute woodwork rebound pounce. During his full shift, Kljestan twice fired just wide and drew the foul that put the visitors down to 10 men with 18 minutes remaining in a tie game.
Finally, in Denmark's SAS Liga, Conor O'Brien was active in his 78 minutes up top as SønderjyskE settled for a 0-0 draw with pesky cellar dwellers HB Køge. After seeing an early yellow, the youngster forced a pair of tough saves on either side of the break.
