AMSTERDAM – It was another rather difficult Saturday afternoon for Americans playing overseas, with Brad Guzan and Aston Villa conceding twice over the final eight minutes to suffer a 2-0 loss against visiting premier League holders Manchester City.
After not needing to make a save in the first half, the former Chivas USA netminder racked up five after the break. Guzan's best denial came when he stood up David Silva at close range in the 48th minute.
However, the champs eventually made their dominance pay off with a pair of late strikes, sending Guzan & Co. to their third straight EPL defeat.
Around the league, Jozy Altidore was an unused sub as Sunderland broke into the win column by topping guests Stoke City 3-1. In snapping a four-game winless slide at home, the Black Cats tentatively jumped to 12th place.
One league below in the Championship, Derby County posted a shutout with Zak Whitbread in central defense for the fourth straight time across all competitions, but settled for a 0-0 home draw with Millwall.
The American came to play against his former employers, leading all players with both 10 clearances and two shot blocks. Whitbread also saw yellow as the Rams stayed unbeaten in eight league games, but missed the chance to reach the summit.
Bolton struggles continued as the home side wasted a strong Tim Ream showing to fall 2-1 against visiting Bournemouth.
The St. Louis native moved to left back for this one, ringing up a game-best eight tackles to go with another fine passing performance. Nevertheless, Wanderers dropped their fourth straight match to drop to the bottom of the table.
Also, Emerson Hyndman went unused in Fulham's 2-0 loss at Middlesbrough, as did Will Packwood in Birmingham City's 1-1 draw at Charlton.
Over in the Bundesliga, Timothy Chandler made a late cameo to help Eintracht Frankfurt close out a wild 3-2 home win over FC Cologne. With consecutive Bundesliga victories for the first time since March, surprising Eintracht rose to fifth place.
Meanwhile, Joseph Gyau watched on as Borussia Dortmund were stunned by a 1-0 home defeat against previously winless Hamburg. Playing without the recovering Julian Green, HSV climbed out of the basement, to just two points behind 13th place Dortmund.
Greg Seltzer covers Americans based in Europe for MLSsoccer.com.
