It was a significant weekend for a handful of U.S. men’s national team players in Europe, with the likes of Malik Tillman and Chris Richards picking up important pieces of silverware – and in dramatic fashion – for their respective clubs in the Netherlands and England.
Tillman scored in PSV’s 3-1 win at Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday, helping PSV repeat as Eredivisie champions and complete one of the most exciting title chases in Europe this season. PSV entered the final day of action in the Netherlands in first place but just one point ahead of Ajax, making a win the most straightforward scenario to win the title. Both PSV and Ajax, who faced Twente on Sunday, took the lead before halftime in their respective games but in Rotterdam, Sparta equalized in the 52nd minute thanks to Gjivai Zechiel, lifting Ajax to top spot.
Ajax’s spell atop the table on Sunday was shortlived, though, with Luuk de Jong scoring for PSV just six minutes later. Tillman sealed the deal for the Eindhoven-based side, making a run into the box after Guus Til headed the ball in his direction. It was Tillman’s 15th goal of the season across all competitions, with the USMNT player also notching five assists along the way.
Club and country teammate Sergino Dest played all 90 minutes after making his way back from an ACL tear he sustained last year, officially making his return in March and playing seven matches to close out the season. Fellow USMNT player Ricardo Pepi will also collect a winners’ medal after playing 28 games in all competitions this season and scoring 17 goals, though he has been out since January with a knee injury.
The drama of the final day of action in the Netherlands was nothing compared to the last several weeks as Ajax squandered a golden opportunity to win their first league title in three years. The Amsterdam-based club had a nine-point lead over PSV with seven games to go in the season, a gap that was the result of their 14-match unbeaten run in the league and PSV’s stretch of just two wins in their previous nine Eredivisie games. Ajax, though, won just three of their last seven matches while PSV won seven straight. PSV officially overtook Ajax on Wednesday after their 4-1 win over Heracles, receiving assistance from their title rivals after they drew 2-2 at Groningen, and PSV finished the season with a two-point lead atop the table.
PSV will be back in the UEFA Champions League for next season, while Ajax will also return to the competition for the first time since the 2022-23 season.
Richards, Crystal Palace win FA Cup
The drama in the Netherlands came a day after a landmark moment in England, where Crystal Palace beat Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final and lifted their first-ever trophy as a top-flight club.
Eberechi Eze scored the game’s lone goal in the 16th minute, setting up a game in which City launched attack after attack in the hopes of scoring an equalizer that never came. That included a penalty save from Dean Henderson on an attempt from City’s Omar Marmoush in the 36th minute, a play that was controversial because the Palace goalkeeper arguably could have been sent off about 10 minutes earlier for handling the ball outside the penalty area.
City went on to take 23 shots in total and place as much pressure on Palace’s defense as possible, though several players came in clutch with some last-ditch defending. The list includes Richards, who made 11 clearances and six blocks at Wembley Stadium and also won four of his five aerial duels. He was among Palace’s standouts on Saturday, who leaned heavily on defense to win the FA Cup and become only the second team outside of England’s traditional big six to win this trophy in the last 12 years.
“We just tried to keep it one play at a time,” Richards said after the match, per ESPN. “The first 15 minutes, we didn’t touch the ball. So we’re just thinking, if we can just do our job and let the guys up front put one or two in, that’s exactly what we’re gonna do. And I think our first attack, we scored. So I mean, we’re a really tight group. A shutout starts from the front, so all 11 that played, 11 that started today, was a part of the clean sheet.”
Richards joins club and country teammate Matt Turner as a fellow FA Cup champion. Turner made three appearances in the FA Cup before first-choice goalkeeper Henderson assumed the role in time for the quarterfinals. The pair are just the second and third Americans to win the FA Cup after Tim Howard did so with Manchester United in 2004.