AMSTERDAM — Four Americans clocked in for top-flight action overseas on Sunday, with Anderlecht midfielder Sacha Kljestan burying a long free kick for his side's second goal in a 4-2 victory over defending Jupiler League champs Genk.
The former Chivas USA man followed a run-over decoy to place a 25-meter restart inside the far post on the bounce. Kljestan's third league strike of the season, and first since October, gave the home side the good for good 10 minutes before intermission.
The result put Anderlecht seven points clear at the top and extended their home win streak across all competitions to five.
Turning to Serie A, Michael Bradley worked another solid shift patrolling central park as a late own goal dealt Chievo a 2-1 home loss to nearby rivals Parma. Including a cup loss last month, the Flying Donkeys have now dropped three straight home games.
The news was no better in Scottish Cup play, where Carlos Bocanegra and Maurice Edu went the distance as Rangers were ousted by a galling 2-0 loss to round-of-16 visitors Dundee United. Neither US international had his best day in Light Blue, with the latter seeing yellow near time.
Over in Israel, the runaway train that is Bryan Gerzicich and Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona steamed right along with a thrilling 1-0 win over defending Israeli league champs Maccabi Haifa. With the American expertly holding down defensive midfield, the hosts fluffed their table-top cushion to 12 points and ran their streak of consecutive clean-sheet league victories at home to seven.
Finally, in England, Brad Guzan watched on from the dugout as Aston Villa suffered a 2-1 Premier League defeat at Newcastle.
