AMSTERDAM – A solid effort from Aston Villa netminder Brad Guzan went to waste in a 1-0 Premier League defeat at Manchester United under Friday night lights.
The US backstop rang up a save, a punch and two cross claims, but his biggest play came on a charge off the line with the game still scoreless in the 20th minute. Guzan narrowly beat United attacker Memphis Depay to a through pass as it entered the Villa area, taking out both player and ball with a sturdy tackle.
Nine minutes later, Guzan was beaten for the lone goal when an Adnan Januzaj effort deflected in off Villa defender Ciaran Clark. The result dropped the visitors back to break-even through two rounds.
Over in Germany's 2.Bundesliga, Sandhausen right winger Andrew Wooten continued his torrid start to the season with a brace in their 6-0 demolition of home side Paderborn on Friday night.
Just six minutes in, the American finished off a Aziz Bouhaddouz cross to the doorstep to break the ice. Just past the hour, Wooten got to the end of a Leart Paqarada serve to nod home his fifth of the young season.
The double put Wooten atop the league scoring chart, while helping to tentatively lift his side into first place. Despite a three-point table penalty, the win boosted Sandhausen to the top above Caleb Stanko and weekend combatants Freiburg on goal differential.
Also, Shawn Barry remains in wait of his FSV Frankfurt debut after watching a 2-1 loss to Karlsruhe from the home dugout.
Next door in France's Ligue 2, Quentin Westberg went unused as Tours earned a 1-1 share at Red Star Paris. Thanks to their third draw from as many rounds, the visitors moved into 13th place.
Turning to the Bulgarian A-PFG, Litex Lovech striker Bjørn Maars Johnsen worked 69 minutes of a 1-0 victory over visiting Pirin Blagoevgrad.
The 6-foot-5 target man was the first player to put a shot on target, drawing a good save in the seventh minute. The victory conditionally moved the league leaders clear at the summit, pending weekend results.
