AMSTERDAM – It was a rather productive Saturday afternoon for Americans suiting up across the pond, with
Timothy Chandler
bagging his first Eintracht Frankfurt goal as the hosts got well with a 3-1 Bundesliga win against Hoffenheim.
The US right back nodded a right-wing cross from a short corner kick into the far corner to give the hosts a three-goal edge in the 34th minute. Chandler also pitched in with a pair of dangerous crosses and two pass picks, as well as drawing a couple of yellow cards on Hoffenheim challengers. Despite the result, Eintracht were all but mathematically eliminated from the Europa League race.
Around the horn,
Fabian Johnson
set up a late insurance tally to grab the overall assists lead among American playing in Europe this term as Borussia Mönchenglabach tentatively moved into second place thanks to a 3-0 blanking of guests Bayer Leverkusen.
Mere seconds before departing in the 89th minute, Johnson teed up Foals sub Ibrahima Traoré to curl home the final goal of the game. The left winger now has assists in three straight home games, six on the league season and eight across all competitions on the campaign.
Johnson also contributed three pass interceptions at the defensive end as 'Gladbach ran their home win streak to nine games by besting Leverkusen there for the first time since 1989. The victory also clinched a place in next fall's UEFA Champions League and put them on the brink of securing a pass directly to the group stage.
The afternoon did not go so well for John Anthony Brooks and Hertha Berlin, with the US defender limping off early as the visitors succumbed to a 2-0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund.
On a day when the capital crew somehow failed to get a single shot on goal despite 53-47 possession advantage, Brooks' hot form cooled a bit. Though he was not at fault on either goal, the youngster managed but two area clearances at the defensive end before leaving in the 55th minute. Winless in five, Hertha hang three points over the danger zone with two rounds to go.
One league below, Bobby Wood notched his fourth assist of the 2.Bundesliga season as Erzgebirge Aue continued their survival revival with a 2-1 triumph at Union Berlin.
In the 23rd minute, Wood slipped into the area to set up Stefan Mugosa's opener. The win, Aue's second in a row and third in four games, kept them still in the promotion/relegation playoff spot as each of the bottom five clubs captured victories.
Turning to England's Premier League,
Geoff Cameron
put on a strong right back display as Stoke City jumped to ninth place with a 3-0 home win over 10-man Tottenham.
With
DeAndre Yedlin
watching on from the away bench, Cameron piled up 11 clearances and two tackles without being charged with a foul. The Potters handyman also completed no less than 15 positive passes in or into the attacking half. While Stoke climbed one rung, Spurs held firm in the final Europa League spot, one point ahead of Southampton with three rounds to play.
Elsewhere,
Tim Howard
's Everton were tagged with a 2-0 home defeat against Sunderland despite dominating play for most of the match.
The Toffees backstop, who was beaten on a pair of second half shot deflections, came up with just one easy save on the day. Despite dropping consecutive games for the first time in over two months, Everton remained in 11th place.
Meanwhile, Brad Guzan watched on as Aston Villa allowed just one shot on goal in a 1-0 home victory over West Ham United. The victory moved the hosts four points clear of the drop zone in 14th place.
Over in Norway, Rhett Bernstein heroically netted a late brace to complete Mjøndalen comeback in a 4-3 home win against Tromsø.
The visitors struck first when Gjermund Åsen's 21st minute shot from 18 yards took the perfect small deflection off Bernstein's hip on its way to the far corner. With Mjøndalen down two in 72nd minute, Bernstein's fair challenge on the 'keeper helped Christian Gauseth slice the lead in half.
Two minutes later, Bernstein pulled the home side level by kissing home a long free kick from 16 yards. The American was not finished yet, eventually sending the home faithful wild by bulling home the stoppage time winner from a left-wing restart. On the strength of their first league win since opening day, Mjøndalen tentatively rose to seventh place.
