It’s been a perfect start to the Bundesliga season for Washington, D.C. born Jordan Pefok, who grabbed himself a goal and an assist in the first half of Union Berlin‘s match against RB Leipzig.
In the 32′ of the match, a perfectly slotted through ball on the break from strike partner Sheraldo Becker found a sprinting Pefok who finished the shot to the keeper’s right to go up 1-0.
The American returned the favor just six minutes later, playing a perfect ball to Becker on the right wing as Pefok was being tackled hard by Willi Orban.
Becker was able to sprint into the box, stop, make a turn, and curl a brilliant effort in to the top left corner to make things 2-0.
Pefok and Becker have started this Bundesliga campaign brilliantly, each scoring their third goal in four games, which ties them with Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala and Mainz’s Karim Onisiwo for most in the league.
Union Berlin’s Jordan Pefok celebrates after scoring his third goal of the season in four games
Saturday also marked a return for American Gio Reyna in a thrilling match between Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund.
The midfielder had been out since April with a ligament injury in his leg that continued to add to various health issues he experienced in the Bundesliga’s Rückrunde.
An illness and hamstring injury kept him out from early February to early March of 2022, before that very same hamstring flared up and caused him to miss the remainder of the season.
Reyna came onto the pitch in the 62′ of this weekend’s match, substituted for goalscorer Julian Brandt.
Borussia Dortmund’s Gio Reyna made his return to the Bundesliga, being subbed on
It was an important first step for a player that needs to keep his fitness as U.S. Men’s National Team manager Gregg Berhalter begins to put together the pieces he needs for his squad.
Reyna seems to be a relative lock for a roster spot, but there’s still an effort to be made to work his way into the starting lineup for Qatar.
Elsewhere in Germany, striker Ricardo Pepi made an appearance for Augsburg in their 2-1 loss to Mainz.
Pepi came onto the pitch in the 68′ as a replacement for Fredrik Jensen, creating one chance but failing to register a shot.
Augsburg fell thanks to a late headed winner from Mainz’s Jae-Sung Lee as the Bavarian club only managed seven total shots all game.
Ricardo Pepi has struggled since his move to Augsburg last season from FC Dallas