The first match day of the UEFA Champions League concluded with several U.S. players in action, but Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie stood out as the only Americans to score.

A total of nine U.S. players participated in the opening day of the new-look elite European competition. Of these, five started, two played the full 90 minutes, and four came on as substitutes.

Malik Tillman (PSV) and Christian Pulisic (Milan) were the only players to complete their Champions League matches, facing Juventus and Liverpool, respectively. Both teams suffered identical 3-1 defeats, though Pulisic managed to score Milan’s only goal in the game held at San Siro.

USMNT players in the Champions League

Tillman had a quiet tournament debut, earning a 7.1 rating from Sofascore, with no clear goal-scoring opportunities. However, he impressed with a 91% pass completion rate. On the other hand, Pulisic, despite scoring, faded out of the game after his goal, finishing with a 7.5 rating.

Weston McKennie played a key role in Juventus’ 3-1 victory over PSV, completing 88% of his passes and scoring one of the goals. Despite this, Sofascore noted several turnovers in his performance.

Cameron Carter-Vickers also had a solid showing for Celtic, starting in their 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava. He played 85 minutes before being substituted for Auston Trusty, who, with only five minutes on the field, didn’t have enough time to make a measurable impact.

In addition to Trusty, other U.S. players with limited playing time included Ricardo Pepi, Folarin Balogun, and Timothy Weah. Pepi entered in the 77th minute, completing 75% of his passes but couldn’t help prevent his team’s defeat in their Champions League debut.

Balogun, playing just a brief 20 minute spell for Monaco against Barcelona, came close to scoring but was denied by a save from Ter Stegen. Meanwhile, Weah came on for Juventus in the 69th minute, replacing Nicolás González. Unfortunately, Weah struggled, completing just 64% of his passes.