Weston James Earl McKennie picked one helluva time to score his first Serie A goal. The 22-year-old Texan came on as a 71st-minute substitute and six minutes later headed home a much-needed equalizer as Juventus rallied to win the Derby della Mole 2-1 on Saturday.
McKennie, a versatile box-to-box midfielder/fullback/forward had yet to score in nine appearances for Juventus since joining on loan over the summer. Though he started on the bench against rival Torino, he made his case to Andrea Pirlo for more playing time with a timely strike.
Following a questionable start from Cristiano Ronaldo and an opening goal from Nicolas Nkoulou, McKennie kickstarted Juventus’ comeback in the 77th minute.
Weston McKennie Goal vs Torino
American Weston McKennie ties it up for Juventus with his first goal for the club! pic.twitter.com/qN3luBTpwl
— ESPN (@espn) December 5, 2020
McKennie’s first Serie A goal set the stage for a dramatic late winner from Leonardo Bonucci in the 89th minute.
IL CAPITANO TO THE RESCUE!
Leonardo Bonucci saves the day for Juventus! pic.twitter.com/vsSQKXfEzd— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 5, 2020
So far it’s been a good day for Americans abroad. Gio Reyna scored a banger against Eintracht Frankfurt earlier in the day, so we can only assume Christian Pulisic will be on target against Leeds United later in the day.
