Could he do it again?
Just days ago, Fulham fell behind to an early goal but fought back to shock Italian giants Juventus 4-1 and earn a Europa League quarterfinals date with Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg. American Clint Dempsey was the undisputed hero of the night, appearing as a 71st-minute substitute before chipping in the series-winning goal just 10 minutes later.
On Sunday, the Cottagers once again went a goal down early, this time to Premier League high-fliers Manchester City. However, this time the outcome was less auspicious -- City won the fixture 2-1, with Dempsey coming off the bench midway through the second half.
For Dempsey, though, the extra minutes in Sunday's loss simply mean he's nearing full fitness after a knee injury had sidelined him for six weeks.
"I've just got to keep working hard to get my fitness back, get that sharpness back and just hope I can get back to the same form I was in before I got injured," Dempsey told reporters after Fulham's historic win on Thursday.
In other EPL action, Saturday's slate saw the U.S.' back-up goalkeepers go head-to-head -- kind of. Marcus Hahnemannmade a couple of key stops to help his Wolves tally a 2-2 tie at Aston Villa. In the Villa goal, Brad Freidel's long clearance helped set up Villa's late equalizer. Freidel's understudy and U.S. national teamer Brad Guzan was an unused substitute.
U.S. starting stopper Tim Howard was kept busy in Everton's 2-0 defeat of 10-man Bolton on Saturday. The New Jersey native twice saved from Trotters captain Kevin Davies, including bravely diving at Davies' feet to stymie a clever first-half build-up. Everton have now won their last seven home EPL games and sit six points from an automatic Europa League berth.
"We needed a good Tim Howard save in the first half, but we needed to be patient and we got our reward in the end," Everton boss David Moyes told reporters.
Defender Jonathan Spector and West Ham United continue to struggle at the foot of the table, and on Saturday they dropped a 2-0 decision to Arsenal. Now just three points above the relegation zone, the Hammers have lost four straight games -- a slump that's seen them concede 11 goals.
Jozy Altidore missed the chance to impress new boss Iain Dowie on Saturday. The striker was forced out of Hull's 3-2 loss to Portsmouth with a hamstring injury, which gave him time to talk about his future with -- or without -- the Tigers.
"I don't know where I see myself next year," Altidore told the Hull Daily Mail. "There is so much going on that you can't look past it."
In the English Championship, Jay DeMerit sat out Watford's 3-1 loss to Cardiff due to a back injury.
North of the border, Maurice Edu and DaMarcus Beasley picked up some silverware as Rangers defeated St. Mirren 1-0 in the Scottish League Cup final.
Edu entered the game at halftime for Steven Davis, who was suffering from stomach flu. The American had a solid game in central midfield, especially considering the circumstances -- Rangers finished the match with just nine men on the field. Beasley was an unused substitute for 'Gers, who claimed the trophy for the 26th time.
Across the Channel, Carlos Bocanegra made his fifth consecutive start for Rennes, who thrashed Toulouse 4-1 to win their third straight match and edge into seventh place in Ligue 1.
Charlie Davies remains confident of a quick return to Ligue 1's Sochaux. "It's official!" he wrote on his Twitter feed on March 18. "I'm done with rehab!!! Leaving for Sochaux tomorrow! Who said I couldn't be back training so soon!? Let's go!! God Bless!!"
Over in Greece, Eddie Johnsonscored his second goal of the season as Aris tied Panionios 1-1 on Sunday. Johnson got the start with both of Aris' starting forwards serving suspensions for yellow-card accumulation and celebrated the opportunity with an 11th-minute strike. U.S. teammate Freddy Adu was missing from the lineup again.
In Germany, Hannover's newly fitSteve Cherundolo has seemingly used up all his good-luck charm. Appearing as a super-sub in the Reds' previous two games, the San Diego native helped his side win both fixtures to break a 10-match losing run. However, the right back could do little as a second-half addition Saturday as Hannover fell to Stuttgart 2-0.
Michael Bradley's Borussia Mönchengladbach failed to win a fifth straight game, but they did manage a 1-1 tie at Cologne on Friday -- a vast improvement over their previous two shutout losses in which they conceded seven goals.
Meanwhile, former Houston Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark has yet to make his debut for Frankfurt, who shocked league leaders Bayern Munich 2-1 on Saturday.
Other American no-shows this weekend include Danish Superliga players Chris Rolfe (AaB) andMichael Parkhurst (Nordsjælland). In Sweden, however, Alejandro Bedoya went the full 90 minutes in Örebro's 2-0 defeat of Åtvidaberg in the season opener.
