Americans Abroad: Haji Wright and Coventry City earn Premier League promotion while Folarin…

GOAL reviews the major takeaways from Americans playing in Europe, including several big goals and several bigger results

Promotion, trophy lifts, and a goalscoring streak that will seemingly never end - it was a heck of a weekend for Americans Abroad.

Folarin Balogun scored again, continuing a run that is unlike any we've really seen from an American striker. His attacking success was matched by Joe Scally, Weston McKennie, and Brenden Aaronson, who contributed to goals of their own. Haji Wright and Coventry City, meanwhile, took care of business, sealing a long-awaited promotion to the Premier League that, over the last few months, has become something of a formality.

It was a big week on the coaching front, too, as Pellegrino Matarazzo, just a few months into his tenure at Real Sociedad, got his hands on a major trophy. It was a historic win, not just for Matarazzo, but for American coaches in general.

GOAL takes a look at the performances from Americans Abroad this weekend...

Haji Wright hasn't been excellent all season. This has not been a dominant campaign, where the American takes over every game, dribbling at defenders and being a constant menace. Instead, Wright has become something more deadly. His role has evolved into that of a poacher. He rarely strays outside of the 18-yard box and is at his most effective when ghosting into space. Coventry boss Frank Lampard has turned him into a far more refined No. 9, with every one of his 16 goals coming from inside the box.

And that's where his value really lies. Wright has been a tweener between forward and winger throughout his career. Most managers haven't really tried to get the best out of him, but Lampard realized he had a talent on his hands here. And he has enough creative players floating about to channel the best out of the U.S. international. The result? Wright is playing a key role in Coventry's best season in recent memory. They achieved promotion Friday night with a gutsy 1-1 draw against Blackburn. Wright didn't start. But it didn't matter. Coventry will be playing Premier League football next year, and an American has been absolutely vital in their efforts.

Numbers don't lie, and Folarin Balogun's are telling a pretty clear story right now. There is no striker in Europe in better form than the USMNT forward, and this weekend provided more evidence of that fact.

With his goal this weekend against Auxerre, Balogun continued a run that has now reached eight straight Ligue 1 matches with a goal. He has 10 in his last 10 games in all competitions. For the last few months, he's essentially been unstoppable, even if this weekend's was the least impressive of the bunch, considering that it came from the penalty spot.

It helped Monaco earn a big point, too. They were down 2-0 to Auxerre, but Balogun's goal, along with an Ansu Fati finish three minutes earlier, earned Monaco a come-from-behind point.

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Видео Americans Abroad: Haji Wright and Coventry City earn Premier League promotion while Folarin… канала fast_soccer_news