In the 62nd minute of Leeds United's clash with Manchester United on Sunday,Brenden Aaronsonwon over the Elland Road crowd with his first goal in more than two months.
The English Premier League match would end ina 1-1 draw,leaving Leeds in the bottom five, but for both the West Yorkshire club and the 25-year-old American midfielder, the goal was another bright moment after a November swoon.
Just six weeks ago, Leeds manager Daniel Farke was so concerned about the relentless social-media criticism aimed at Aaronson that he spoke out with great passion. With Leeds unbeaten in seven straight and the U.S. men's national team veteran playing well, both have been able to breathe easier.
Aaronson provided the lead Sunday, slipping into defender Ayden Heaven's blind spot to pounce on Pascal Struijk's well-weighted throughball. The New Jersey native then warded off Heaven before coolly finishing into the far corner for his second Premier League goal of the season.
The Red Devils answered three minutes later, but the result was good enough to extend Leeds' run to 2-0-5 since a four-match losing streak in November. The Whites (5-8-7) sit in 16th place but eight points clear of the relegation zone.
"It is great for the team to stay unbeaten," Aaronson said, "but of course we wanted three points."
Describing the goal, he said, "I just was kind of just running in behind to see if I could get lucky. Sometimes you have to take a chance. The ball came to me. I think that the centre back didn't know I was going to be kind of running off his shoulder like that. It was a good touch, and then it is just about putting it on target."
Since being demoted to the bench for four consecutive matches, Aaronson has started four in a row. Last weekend, he assisted in a 1-1 draw at Sunderland. His three assists lead the team and, combined with his two goals, he is tied for second in goal contributions.
It was a very different situation in late November, when fan anger prompted Farke to come to the American's defense.
"I'm just worried how we are as a society, with social media stuff, how we are as human beings," he said at the time. "You just see the negative comments. If you see 5,000 negative comments about yourself as a 25-year-old guy, you think the whole world is on your shoulders.
"I could make my life easy and also slam him and then everyone would say, 'Yes, Daniel, great, we don't like him anyway.' But I protect human beings. This is what I do. I work with human beings. I don't work with robots. I also see what this lad is doing. And he is always a fantastic teammate. He works his socks off."
Farke added, "Judge his performances, be at least a little bit fair. And if you don't want to do this in terms of relationship, come on, be a bit respectful with a young lad of 25 years old. And then, otherwise, we don't have to have all this mental-health awareness days, and we can put it into the bin."
By maintaining his good form, Aaronson is on pace to earn an invite to U.S. training camp in March for friendlies against Belgium and Portugal in Atlanta — the final assembly before coachMauricio Pochettinonames his World Cup squad in late May.
A member of the 2022 World Cup team, Aaronson appeared in eight matches last year, with three starts, one goal (against Trinidad & Tobago at the Gold Cup) and one assist. He was left off the September roster, made one sub appearance in the October friendlies and, a month later, started against Paraguay and came in late against Uruguay.
With midfielderTyler Adamsand center backChris Richardsinjured, Aaronson was among just two Americans in Premier League action over the weekend.Antonee Robinson, Fulham's left back/wing back, went the distance ina wild 2-2 home draw with Liverpool. Both teams scored in second-half stoppage time.
Since recovering from a knee injury, Robinson has played every minute of six consecutive matches across all competitions.
In the second-flight English Championship, central midfielderAidan Morrisplayed 90 in Middlesbrough's 4-0 win over Southampton, a result that trimmed the gap with first-place Coventry City to six points.
ForwardHaji Wrightentered in the 67th in Coventry's 3-2 loss at Birmingham City, extending the frontrunner's winless streak to three matches.
ForwardPatrick Agyemang(60 minutes) went scoreless for the third consecutive match as Derby County fell 2-1 to Wrexham. ForwardJosh Sargentlogged 89 minutes in a 2-0 loss to Stoke City.
Italy
MidfielderWeston McKenniescored his first Serie A goal of the season, connecting from close range in the 50th minute in a 1-1 draw with Lecce. He has scored twice in the Champions League.
Just four minutes into the second half, Weston McKennie sweeps in the equalizer for Juventus 🔥🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/eHKvb94Jci
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo)January 3, 2026
Amid a stretch of six matches in 22 days, AC Milan top scorerChristian Pulisiccame off the bench in the 79th minute of a 1-0 victory over Cagliari.
MidfielderYunus Musahcontinues to struggle for starting roles, entering in the 59th minute of Atalanta's 1-0 win over Roma.
France
StrikerFolarin Balogun'saccidental assistwas the lone highlight of slumping Monaco's 3-1 home loss to Lyon. With Balogun spun around by a defender while in transition just before halftime, the ball nicked his foot and fell into the path of Mamadou Coulibaly for the one-timer.
MidfielderTanner Tessmannentered in the 66th minute for Lyon, which has won four straight in all competitions.
Wing backTim Weahplayed 90 for third-place Olympique Marseille, which lost two players to first-half red cards and lost to Nantes 2-0 snapping a three-game winning streak across all competitions.
Center backMark McKenziewent the distance in Toulouse's 3-0 home loss to first-place Lens. He has started 15 of 17 league matches.
Others
In Glasgow's Old Firm derby, center backAuston Trustyplayed 90 minutes in Celtic's 3-1 home loss to Rangers — the sixth defeat in eight matches under former Columbus Crew boss Wilfried Nancy. Trusty missed an early scoring chance and didn't perform well in the second half. "Overworked and underskilled," The Times wrote. …
In Spain's La Liga, midfielderJohnny Cardosoplayed the last half-hour of Atletico Madrid's 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad. …
The German and Dutch leagues are on winter break, impacting eight U.S. national team candidates. Mexico's Liga MX will resume this coming weekend. MLS preseason camps will open this month.
