AMSTERDAM – Geoff Cameron and Stoke City halted a three-game Premier League losing skid on Saturday afternoon, holding on for a 3-2 home victory over Arsenal.
The US international worked a solid 90 minutes to take his personal Britannia record against the Gunners to 2-0-1. Cameron moved the ball well, committing only one turnover and adding three tackles as Stoke tentatively rose a spot to 12th place.
Around the EPL, Jozy Altidore provided a strong hold-up presence for 69 minutes in his first league start of the season, a valiant 0-0 draw at Liverpool.
The striker won eight of nine aerial duels and helped the visitors maintain a possession advantage into the second half, but he was rarely in position to threaten goal as the Black Cats managed just one shot on target all day. Thanks to their league-high ninth draw of the term, Sunderland held firm in 14th.
In England's Championship, Tim Ream was among the standouts as Bolton continued their resurgence with a 0-0 draw away to Daniel Williams' Reading.
The Wanderers left back was denied a chance to win the game shortly after intermission when Royals netminder Adam Federici turned away his corner kick header. In all, Ream tallied five tackles, two shot blocks and a pair of snuffed-out crosses to go with his typically helpful passing game.
Williams, meanwhile, endured a considerably rougher 85-minute outing, including seven turnovers in his own half. The share boosted Bolton to 17th place, while Reading nudged up a rung to 14th.
Also, Eric Lichaj rebounded from a tough beginning to ably hold down right back for Nottingham Forest in a 1-1 home draw with Charlton.
With Oguchi Onyewu watching on from the away dugout, Lichaj got away with one when his tackling error allowed the visitors a good chance after only three minutes of play. He would eventually complete 38 of 43 passes, including nine forward connections across midfield, with 10 clearances and three tackles on the defensive end. Forest dropped two places to 10th, one above Charlton.
Brek Shea came on for the final 19 minutes as Birmingham City fell 1-0 at Blackpool. The winger did little more than commit a few turnovers and provide one clearance in limited touches as the Brums slipped to 19th place.
Over in Germany, Fabian Johnson's return from a muscle complaint coincided with Borussia Mönchengladbach's first win in four Bundesliga matches, a 3-2 home decision over John Anthony Brooks and Hertha Berlin.
Johnson enjoyed only a few touches after replacing left winger Thorgen Hazard in the 84th minute. While Brooks did log a game-best eight pass interceptions, the defender was beaten by the crosser on 'Gladbach's second and was pulled out of position on their winner.
The resulted lifted the hosts to seventh place, while Hertha dropped to 14th.
Nantes midfielder Alejandro Bedoya scored his first Ligue 1 goal of the season in style on Saturday evening, but a double from Zlatan Ibrahimovic would eventually give home side Paris Saint-Germain a 2-1 victory.
Working in a two-way central midfield role, the US international needed just eight minutes to break the ice. Bedoya accepted a pass in the right channel, took one stride toward the area and picked the far corner with a frozen rope from 25 yards.
For the day, Bedoya would complete all seven of his forward passes in the PSG end and ring up eight total defensive stops, including three tackles and a big area shot block on Ezequiel Lavezzi midway through the second half. Despite his efforts, Nantes' fourth defeat in a row kept them in eighth place.
Greg Seltzer covers Americans based in Europe for MLSsoccer.com.
