Reyna's First Ligue 1 Goal Sparks Revival in France

Gio Reyna needed this. Not Strasbourg, not Ligue 1, not even the scoreline in Troyes. Him.

On just his third appearance for the club, Reyna buried the first Ligue 1 goal of his career in a 6-2 away hammering of Troyes, a strike that meant far more for the player than it did for the contest. The game was long gone. His story isn’t.

Reyna has spent the early weeks in France quietly stitching his club career back together. A brief cameo in the season opener against Marseille, then a first start against Lens where the numbers hinted at the old rhythm: 92 percent passing accuracy, three chances created, the ball zipping off his boot with purpose again.

Troyes brought the next step. A goal to go with the control. Reyna completed 18 of his 21 passes, tested the goalkeeper twice, and walked off with something tangible to show for all that patient rebuilding.

It’s early, and no one around Reyna needs reminding that his biggest opponent has rarely been a defender. It has been his own body. The grind of a long French season will ask the same question it always does of him: can he stay on the pitch? If he can, these first flashes suggest Strasbourg haven’t just picked up a reclamation project. They may have found a genuine Ligue 1 difference-maker.

Pepi keeps firing as PSV roll

In the Netherlands, the goals keep coming and so does the noise around Ricardo Pepi.

Five minutes into PSV’s 3-1 win over Ajax on Saturday, Pepi struck again. That makes three goals in his last four games, a run that mirrors PSV’s own ruthless form: four straight victories, a combined scoreline of 16-4, and the look of a side ready to sprint away from the rest of the Eredivisie.

Pepi sits right in the middle of that surge. When he scores, PSV look unstoppable. When PSV look unstoppable, the transfer talk starts up again.

The question hasn’t changed. Will he actually be there for the whole ride? Rumors have swirled around Pepi for years, links and whispers following every hot streak. Any move will have to wait until January at the earliest, which leaves him with a clear target: keep this pace up and he’ll be flirting with double digits by the time the window opens. At that point, PSV may not be the only ones desperate to keep him.

Musah stands tall as Milan let it slip

When Milan face Juventus, American eyes usually split down the middle. One on Weston McKennie. One on Christian Pulisic.

This time, they had to lock in on just one man.

McKennie never made the Juve squad as he nurses a muscle injury. Pulisic was there for Milan, but only as a spectator on the bench yet again. That left Yunus Musah to carry the USMNT flag in a heavyweight Serie A clash that refused to find a winner.

It finished 1-1, a late Juventus goal snatching a point and silencing a San Siro that had already started to celebrate. Milan had the game in their hands. Musah, stationed in central midfield alongside Luka Modric, played his part in what looked like a statement win. Then came a set piece, a lapse, and a gut-punch equalizer that turned three points into one and left the hosts staring at the turf in disbelief.

For American fans, the scoreboard almost felt secondary. McKennie’s absence was expected. Pulisic’s situation is more unsettling. Three times this season he has been named to the squad, three times he has stayed on the bench, with Milan clearly intent on easing him back after his World Cup injury. No one around the club is putting a firm date on when he’ll be ready to start driving games again.

Maybe next week is the week both McKennie and Pulisic return to the stage they usually own. This one went by without them, and for many watching back home, that’s what stung most.

Scally scores, then watches chaos unfold

Joe Scally spent the summer at the center of speculation. Borussia Monchengladbach listened to offers, weighed up options, and still kept him. Days after the window closed, he offered a reminder of why that decision might age well.

In a wild 4-3 defeat to Elversberg on Saturday, Scally was one of the three Gladbach scorers, netting just the sixth goal of his professional career. His strike in the 56th minute put Gladbach 3-1 up and seemingly on course for a routine win. The game felt done.

It wasn’t. Shortly after Elversberg cut the deficit to 3-2, Scally was substituted. From the bench he watched his would-be winner fade into the background as Elversberg struck twice in the final 10 minutes to complete a stunning turnaround.

Scally’s afternoon wasn’t spotless. He committed an error that led to one of Elversberg’s goals, a reminder that his defensive work still has rough edges. Yet the long-standing criticism of him has rarely been about his tackling. It has been about what he offers going forward.

Modern fullbacks are judged as much on their end product as their positioning. Scally hasn’t always convinced in the final third at the highest level. This weekend, he did. Now he has something to build on, a goal and a performance that can fuel his push to nail down his place in a Gladbach side that clearly still believes there’s more to come.

Americans abroad: quick hits

Across Europe and beyond, it was another busy weekend for American players:

• Folarin Balogun did not dress for Monaco’s come-from-behind 2-1 upset of Paris Saint-Germain after a week dominated by transfer speculation.
• Sebastian Berhalter, Aidan Morris and Max Arfsten all started, while Rokas Pukstas came off the bench to make his debut in Middlesbrough’s 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers.
• Gianluca Busio supplied an assist for Venezia, but they slipped to a 3-2 defeat against Frosinone.
• Chris Richards came out on top in the all-American duel with Antonee Robinson as Crystal Palace edged Fulham 3-2.
• Noahkai Banks delivered a strong display for Augsburg in a 4-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.
• Jack McGlynn made his Stoke City debut off the bench in a 4-0 rout of Charlton Athletic.
• Tim Weah captained Marseille, but Lassine Sinayoko’s hat-trick powered Paris FC to a 3-2 victory.
• Tanner Tessmann entered in the 76th minute of Lyon’s 3-1 win over Auxerre.
• Lyngby goalkeeper Diego Kochen made four saves to secure a clean sheet at Viborg.
• Tyler Adams dictated play in midfield, though Bournemouth were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw with Newcastle.
• Brenden Aaronson came on in the 62nd minute of Leeds’ 1-1 draw with Brighton.
• Johnny Cardoso made a late cameo for Atletico Madrid in a shock 3-0 loss to Athletic Bilbao.
• Alex Freeman went the distance in Villarreal’s 3-2 defeat to Deportivo La Coruña.
• George Campbell helped West Brom preserve a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Watford.
• John Tolkin played 63 minutes in Holstein Kiel’s 2-2 draw with FC Nurnberg.
• Auston Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers started together in central defense as Celtic claimed a 2-1 win over St. Mirren.
• Caleb Wiley logged 59 minutes in Preston’s 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers.
• Malik Tillman featured for 67 minutes in Bayer Leverkusen’s emphatic 4-0 dismantling of Union Berlin.

From Reyna’s revival in France to Pepi’s surge in the Netherlands, the shape of the American season abroad is starting to form. The only question now: who turns these early sparks into something lasting?