Americans Abroad: Auston Trusty lifts Celtic, Christian Pulisic finds some form, but Malik Tillman's season has taken a turn for the worse

One of Celtic's most chaotic seasons, fittingly enough, ended in chaos. Fans on the field, celebrations, tears and more made for dramatic final moments in Scotland's league season.

In the end, though, Celtic got what they usually get: a trophy. Auston Trusty and his teammates lifted it on Saturday by defeating Hearts, who nearly went wire to wire as Scotland's league leaders this season. They fell at the final hurdle, as most teams do against Celtic in this particular league.

This was not just any league season for Trusty and Celtic. They spent most of the campaign chasing, an unfamiliar position for them. They went through three managers across four different stints, two from Martin O'Neill and one each from Brendan Rodgers and Wilfried Nancy. There was never a moment of comfort for Celtic, at least until Callum Osmand's stoppage-time goal hit the back of the net to make it 3-1.

Trusty did his part. He played 73 minutes in Saturday's win after proving himself to be a top-tier defender in the league throughout the season. He and his teammates earned their reward in the end, toppling underdog Hearts to ensure the trophy stayed in Glasgow once again.

Champions League dreams went down to the final day, but for Bayer Leverkusen, they remained just dreams. Reality proved different, as Malik Tillman and his teammates will now look ahead to the Europa League.

Needing a win to have a chance at securing a Champions League place, Tillman and Bayer Leverkusen settled for a 1-1 draw with Hamburg. Tillman started and played 62 minutes in the draw, creating two chances that ultimately did not amount to much.

So ended a Leverkusen season that started on the wrong foot and never quite recovered. From firing Erik ten Hag just weeks into the season to Saturday's draw, nothing ever fully clicked for the club, which is why they are heading to Europe's secondary competition instead of the Champions League. What that means for the club moving forward remains to be seen, but in the end, the 2025-26 campaign was something of a letdown for a club that hoped to contend near the top of the Bundesliga.

Is this the rebirth of Christian Pulisic? Let's not get too ahead of ourselves here. Pulisic was benched again for Milan this weekend, with a tepid attacking duo of Christopher Nkunku and Santi Gimenez picked ahead of him. He was not even the first attacker off the bench, either. That honor went to Niklas Fullkrug. But he still had his moment.

Pulisic entered the game with Milan leading 1-0 and rather desperately needing a spark. It was a typical Milan game: slow, measured and a bit of a slog. But Pulisic offered a bit of quality. He reacted first to a loose ball and laid it off for youngster Zachary Athekame, who blasted home Milan's second goal with 10 minutes remaining. Pulisic was otherwise sparingly involved. Yet perhaps this was the kind of cameo he needed: 10 minutes, a few nice touches and an assist. Some slumps need to be shot out of. Maybe this one is a question of small returns, piece by piece, touch by touch.

And for Milan, it was a solid evening. The win all but guarantees Champions League football, a welcome return to the top stage of European soccer.

Yet it wasn't all good news. The focus now should be on keeping players fit. The USMNT have already lost Johnny Cardoso, certainly a contender to start this summer, to an ankle injury. What they did not need was another injury concern involving a starter.

As for that, the extent of Chris Richards' injury remains unclear. The American defender hobbled off at full time following Crystal Palace's 2-2 draw with Brentford. Oliver Glasner said after the game that his center back rolled his ankle but should be available in midweek.

The same went for Brenden Aaronson. He started for Leeds but limped off after an hour and appeared to gesture toward his leg. Manager Daniel Farke did little to suggest there was a serious issue for the American, but Aaronson is certainly a contender for the USMNT roster.

+ Joe Scally played all 90 minutes, while Gio Reyna played the final 23 in Borussia Monchengladbach's 4-0 win over 10-man Hoffenheim. Cole Campbell came off the bench in the defeat.

+ Noahkai Banks came off the bench in the 61st minute of Augsburg's 4-0 loss to Union Berlin.

+ James Sands did not feature because of his season-ending injury, but St. Pauli were relegated after a loss to Wolfsburg.

+ Weston McKennie put in an energetic shift, but it was not enough for Juventus in a 2-0 loss to Fiorentina.

+ Antonee Robinson scored his first Premier League goal, slotting home from the penalty spot in Fulham's 1-1 draw with Wolves.

+ Folarin Balogun was kept off the scoresheet as Monaco lost 5-4 to Strasbourg and missed out on European football on the final day.

+ Tim Weah's Marseille, though, went the other way and grabbed a vital 2-1 win to secure a Europa League spot.

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