Americans deliver across Europe

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Feb 5, 2023

• Jordan Pefok ended his long drought that cost him his starting job at Union Berlin, scoring the winning goal in the 84th minute to give Union Berlin a 2-1 win against Mainz that kept it in second place, one point behind Bayern Munich in a tight Bundesliga that has the top five teams separated by just five points. The goal came just five minutes after entering the match and ended a 14-match scoreless streak. His season totals are four goals and four assists in 956 minutes over 17 matches.

Union Berlin-Mainz Highlights:



• Gio Reyna made it three goals in three Bundesliga games off the bench since his return from the World Cup with the final goal in Borussia Dortmund's 5-1 win over Freiburg at Signal Iduna Park. Reyna has five Bundesliga goals just 438 minutes to average 1.03 goals per 90 minutes. Borussia Dortmund broke the match open with four goals in the second half. Reyna entered the match in the 71st minute and scored 11 minutes later, slotting home a pass from Raphael Guerrero.

Borussia Dortmund-Freiburg Highlights:


• Malik Tillman scored the opening goal in Rangers' 2-1 win over Ross County that extended its unbeaten run to 10 Scottish Premiership games under new manager Michael Beale. Tillman, on loan from Bayern Munich, has scored seven goals and added four assists in his first season in the Premiership.

Rangers-Ross County Highlights:


• Auston Trusty capped a furious Birmingham City comeback, scoring on a header in the seventh minute of stoppage time to give the Blues a 4-3 victory over Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium. A goal by Lukas Jutkiewicz in the 90th minute evened the score at 3-3, setting up Trusty for the Birmingham City winner.

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A post shared by Auston Trusty (@austontrusty3)

• Luca de la Torre has started to find his stride at Celta. He didn't start his first LaLiga game until two weeks ago, but he has assists in back-to-back games, both wins. His assist on Saturday brought Celta back even at 2-2 against at Real Betis, where it went on to win 4-3.

• Taylor Booth, who has become the target of teams across Europe, started for FC Utrecht in its 1-0 win over Heerenveen that kept it in seventh place. The teams that finish 4-7 in the Eredivisie enter a playoff series to determine the second Dutch team that will enter the UEFA Conference League qualifiers in the summer.

 #fcutrecht #vanuithethart #utrhee pic.twitter.com/u3AtGQVAoE

— FC Utrecht (@fcutrecht) February 4, 2023

Pefok Photo: Imago via ZUMA Press/ISI Photos