by Greg Seltzer for Soccer365

Another busy weekend for Americans Abroad saw some excitement in France as Freddy Adu made his Monaco debut with a late cameo.

The returning U.S. Olympian worked the final three minutes of a 1-1 home draw with Caen on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Carlos Bocanegra got the start for Rennes in central defense on Sunday, but left for an attacking substitution moments before the hosts pulled off a last gasp 2-1 rally victory over Lille.
 
The USMNT captain was removed with his team down a goal on 82 minutes, but the hosts netted twice in added time through Benout Cheyrou and Bocanegra replacement Moussa Sow to flip the result.

Andrew Jacobsen, however, was not in uniform as Lorient fell 3-1 at Valenciennes.

Down in Ligue 2, Troyes back-up keeper Quentin Westberg as his team dropped a 1-0 decision at Vannes.

Across the channel we go to England, where Tim Howard backstopped Everton to a 2-1 win at promoted West Bromwich Albion.

The U.S. #1 made a key stop on Kim Do-Heon midway through the first half and denied Ishmael Miller twice in a row after the break, but was beaten on a last minute consolation penalty by Roman Bednar.

Elsewhere, Clint Dempsey worked the final 13 minutes to help Fulham stun Arsenal 1-0 on Saturday.

Brad Friedel and Aston Villa were also surprised with a 3-2 defeat at promoted Stoke City.

The visitors fought back to draw level twice in the second half, but were denied a share by a 90th minute Mamady Sidibe header. American back-up netminder Brad Guzan did not dress.

Recovering defender Jonathan Spector missed out as West Ham United were humbled 3-0 at Manchester City.

Down a flight in the Championship, Bobby Convey picked up an assist in a losing cause as Reading lost 4-2 at Charlton.

The Philadelphia native served a delicious cross for Ibrahima Sonko to feast on near intermission, but with Royals keeper Marcus Hahnemann under siege most of the day, the home side eventually cruised.

Watford defender Jay DeMerit went the distance as Watford suffered a 3-2 defeat at Nottingham Forest.

Also, loan catch Eddie Johnson looked on as Cardiff blew a two-goal lead in the final 13 minutes to settle for a 2-2 draw with Norwich and Sheffield Wednesday played Preston North End to a 1-all tie without the injured Frank Simek.

Down another tier in League One, Jemal Johnson played the final 25 as MK Dons notched a 3-1 victory at Huddersfield Town.

Zak Whitbread put in his usual sturdy 90 minutes as Millwall held hosts Northampton to a scoreless draw.

In the Scottish Premier League, late sub DaMarcus Beasley was denied a winner by a questionable offside flag in the closing moments of a 1-1 draw at Aberdeen.

Though the visitors - who did not dress fresh catch Maurice Edu - dropped to second, they remain level on points with leaders Celtic ahead of next week's Old Firm derby at Ibrox.

In nearby Ireland, Ryan Guy worked the full route as St. Pat's scraped a 1-0 win over visiting Sligo Rovers.

Thanks to Damien Lynch's stoppage time strike, the Saints stayed within shouting distance of first place Bohemians, who topped Galway United 2-0 without American keeper Chris Konopka.

Moving to Germany, young Borussia Dortmund defender Neven Subotic frustrated Luca Toni to the point that the Italy strike star took a yellow card for an elbow as the Ruhr River crew battled 10-man Bundesliga champs Bayern Munich to a 1-1 share.

Meanwhile, Steve Cherundolo picked up a caution card in his 18 substitute minutes as Hannover 96 stayed winless with a 0-0 stalemate against visiting Energie Cottbus on Friday night. Young American Sal Zizzo was not in uniform for the Reds.

Neither Bryan Arguez of Hertha Berlin nor Wolfsburg's Kamani Hill suited up as their clubs played to draws.

In the second Bundesliga, Gregg Berhalter returned to the starting line-up, but an early mistake helped guests Mainz 05 leave Allianz Arena with a 2-1 win.

The veteran defender slipped up to allow Miroslav Karhan a seventh minute opener and the winless Lions never were able to catch up.

Koblenz netminder David Yelldell stood tall in a goalless draw at FSV Frankfurt. Fellow American Matt Taylor worked a fruitless hour up front for the visitors.

Also, hot transfer topic Heath Pearce watched from the bench as Hansa Rostock scored a 1-0 victory over Alemannia Aachen.

Next door in the Netherlands, Charles Kazlauskas went wire-to-wire as TOP Oss allowed hosts Telstar to come back from two down for a 2-2 draw.

Over in Belgium, Oguchi Onyewu was rested for all but 16 minutes due to Wednesday's Champions League showdown at Liverpool, but Belgian champs Standard still had enough muscle to outgun gusts Westerlo 3-0.

In Italy, Danny Szetela went the full 120 minutes in midfield as Brescia were ousted from the Coppa Italia by a 2-1 loss at top flight Torino.

Finally heading to Scandinavia, where Lee Nguyen scored on a breakaway to help Randers advance in the Danish Cup with a 5-0 rout of Møldrup/Tostrup IF.

Aarhus GF winger Jeremiah White was a busy bee as the team crushed mites Viby IF 8-0 to advance to the next round. Fellow U.S. international Benny Feilhaber, meanwhile, is set to take part in his first AGF training session on Monday.

Meanwhile, Esbjerg #2 keeper Tally Hall enjoyed a rare start on the road, helping the team to humiliate big Cup underdogs Tjæreborg 10-1.

In Norway's top flight, no Americans saw action in their team's weekend outings.

Adin Brown remained on the mend as Aalesund FK fell 1-0 at Tromsø, Brian West likewise missed out as third place Fredrikstad earned a 1-1 share at HamKam and Brian Waltrip went unused in Molde's 2-1 home loss to Bodø/Glimt.

However, the second flight was a busy place for Americans, including slump buster Joe Lapira of Nybergsund.

The former Notre Dame star bagged his seventh of the season - and first since June 8th - by burying a free kick from the edge of the area to start the visitor's rally in a 2-2 draw with Sparta Sarpsborg.

A pair of late goals saw Clarence Goodson and second place IK Start stay a point off the top with a 2-0 win over Kyle Veris and home side Hødd.

The former was pulled at halftime carrying a yellow card, while the latter went the distance in defeat.

Alta defender Jay Needham scored his first Adeccoligaen goal on an early corner kick as the hosts piled up on Chris Rodd's Bryne 4-1.

Haugesund forward Cameron Weaver saw yellow and had a late penalty claim rejected as the team stretched their unbeaten run to nine games with a 1-1 draw at Hønefoss.

Finally, Jamil Fearrington did not feature as Sandnes Ulf dropped a tough 3-2 decision at tabletop Odd Grenland.

Soccer365 reporter Greg Seltzer blogs daily over at No Short Corners.

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