Weston McKennie didn’t have to wait long to be an impact sub for Juventus in Champions League on Tuesday.
Just eight minutes after coming on as a halftime substitute against Paris Saint-Germain, the U.S. men’s national team star scored to cut PSG’s 2–0 lead, courtesy of Kylian Mbappé, in half and bring the Italian giants back into their Champions League group-stage opener.
Off a short corner, Filip Kostić whipped in an outswinging cross that found McKennie, who rose in the center of the box with a thunderous header while overpowering his defender. In all, it is the Texas native’s third career Champions League goal and 10th for Juventus in all competitions.
The 24-year-old is starting to show a knack for scoring against the biggest of names in Champions League. In 2020, McKennie scored a beautiful goal for Juventus against Barcelona (while his first goal in the competition came against less-prestigious competition: vs. Lokomotiv Moscow in 2018 while with Schalke).
McKennie wasn’t the only U.S. star to make news in the opening day of the Champions League group stage. Gio Reyna recorded two assists for Borussia Dortmund against Copenhagen in a 3–0 win earlier in the day. And after arriving in a Deadline Day loan from Barcelona, Sergiño Dest made his debut for AC Milan against RB Salzburg.
