Is this Christian Pulisic the best Christian Pulisic ever?
It looked like an NFL play.
Christian Pulisic wrestled with his blocker and former teammate Yacine Adli and then ran an inside-out route. He was open to Theo Hernandez’s ball to the far post, jumped and fed a beautiful volley back across goal in the style of AC Milan great Marco van Basten.
It was from an acute angle. Both feet were off the ground and Pulisic somehow managed to beat a goalkeeper in David de Gea who otherwise looked unbeatable in Florence.
I think I did well 🔥#الدوري_الإيطالي pic.twitter.com/XEk5vjwnLb
— الدوري الايطالي (@SerieA_AR) October 7, 2024
The goal should have been the main story. But Milan lost 2-1 to Fiorentina. It was the second defeat in a row in all competitions.
The usually unflappable Paulo Fonseca did not want to talk about the referee in the Artemio Franchi. At least not in details. “I love this game,” said Milan’s head coach, “and I don’t want to contribute to this circus.” The referee had indicated the spot in Fiorentina’s favor and then awarded Milan two penalties. As Milan’s designated player, Pulisic could have ended the evening with a hat-trick.
But he took neither. Milan captain Theo Hernandez stepped up for the first and hoped to make it 1-1 on the stroke of half-time. It was his birthday and if he had scored, he would have become the highest scoring defender in Milan history. De Gea thwarted him.
Then Fikayo Tomori caught the ball and passed it to his best friend Tammy Abraham to try for the next one. This didn’t come as a complete surprise. In September, Milan also conceded a pair of penalties against Venezia. Pulisic put away the first and allowed Abraham to take the second. The Englishman recently joined on loan from Roma and his teammates were keen to see him hit the ground running. Unlike in Florence, where Milan were still searching for an equalizer, on that occasion they were 3-0 up at San Siro against a winless promoted side.
Abraham opened his account in Venice. But De Gea stopped him from adding anything this weekend.
While Pulisic’s volley soon after brought Milan level, Fiorentina won and Fonseca could not hide his disappointment as his players ignored team orders. “Obviously I have told the players that this cannot happen again. The player she should take is Christian. And I’m angry about it.”
The result, the penalty farrago and Hernandez’s late red card dominated the headlines, which could have been stolen by Pulisic in a different outcome. He will not soon forget his goal. It was technically his best since moving to Italy a year ago, although he could make a case for his Bologna debut, that against Frosinone when he knocked down a Mike Maignan goal-kick with a Velcro-like first touch or his far corner curlers against Monza and Lecce.
Arguably Pulisic’s most important goal came last month, when he became the first American ever to score in the Derby della Madonnina and ended a six-match losing streak against Inter as Milan defeated their rivals for the first time in two years .
Pulisic celebrates his goal against Inter (Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Ciancaphoto Studio/Getty Images)
It means the Pulisic who flies home for Mauricio Pochettino’s first games and leads the USMNT might be the best Pulisic ever.
Ahead of the games against Panama on Saturday and Mexico on Tuesday, the 26-year-old said: “Yes, it’s hard to explain (his form). I think you have moments in your career where it feels like everything you touch is going in, and you have other moments where it feels like you’re trying everything and the ball just isn’t going in. As an attacking player we all went through it. So I just try to live in that moment, when things seem to be going well, and just keep going. It’s the result of all the work I’ve put in my whole life. So it shouldn’t be a surprise. I know I have this ability and I’m just going to ride that high, I think.
His new USMNT coach is also satisfied and describes Pulisic as “a great, great player, a fantastic player, a player who will help now and in the future to get the team to the place we want. He is one of the best attacking players in the world.”
But there was also some concern that Pulisic was over-exerting himself. “He plays every game, every minute. That, I think, is also that we worry a little bit that we have to protect (him) sometimes. We’ll see. Because he arrived a little tired. But that’s something I’ve told you before: building a very good relationship with the club and trying to help. When we really need him, he has to be in shape, happy and strong.”
No one in Serie A has been involved in more goals (21 + 12 assists) in Pulisic’s time in the league; not Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, not Lautaro Martinez, nor teammate Rafael Leao.
Those who doubted his durability should take into account the fact that he started 44 games for Milan last season and played over 4,000 minutes for club and country. Initially signed as a number 10 who could cover the wing positions when necessary, he kept Samuel Chukwueze out of the squad when Stefano Pioli opted to play him on the right.
Pulisic is in excellent form (Katie Stratman-Imagn Images)
This season he threatens to become Milan’s best player. Theo and Leao remain the most talented. But they both blow hot and cold. Pulisic, meanwhile, continues to perform. He has scored in four straight league games in Europe’s top five leagues for the first time, a level of consistency that has been partly obscured by Milan’s up-and-down start to the season.
Yunus Musah, his teammate for club and country, says this is exactly what Pulisic is capable of. “It’s not a surprise,” he said on Friday, “but it’s always nice to see him score and help the team. He is Milan’s best attacking player at the moment and I hope he continues like this.”
🥁🥁September’s MVP is…. 🥁🥁
Take a bow, @pulisic! 👏@emirates #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/VJ0YV8wdc6
— AC Milan (@acmilan) October 4, 2024
Granted, not every goal-scoring performance was a complete performance. Pulisic scored in the defeat at Parma and then faded away, like the rest of the team. But against Inter he played like he was possessed. Pulisic repeatedly drove into their defense, stole the ball from Henrikh Mkhitaryan for his goal, silenced the team’s critics and later nutmegged Alessandro Bastoni, causing the Italy international to then push him to the ground.
“Christian’s participation in our play is more effective,” Fonseca explained to DAZN. It came about for a number of reasons.
On the one hand, he is maturing and knows the competition and his teammates better. On the other hand, Milan’s new coaching staff has slightly adjusted its position. In the defeat against Liverpool, Fonseca tried a different system. Out of possession, Milan played 4-2-4 with a very narrow front line. It meant that if and when they won the ball back high up the pitch, as happened a few days later against Inter, Pulisic was more central, closer to goal and more dangerous.
“It’s not like he only plays inside,” Fonseca explained. “There are moments when he also goes wide. This way he is closer to the goal, when shooting and assisting. He knows how to play between the lines and that is important to me. He has also scored goals as a number 9.”
If only he would take more penalties. If only he had better full-back support than Emerson Royal, Milan could get even more bang for their buck. But the €20 million they paid for Pulisic a year ago is looking better and better with every game.
The move has worked for them, for him and, as the World Cup approaches, for the USMNT.
(Additional contributor: Paul Tenorio)
(Top image: Photo Agency/Getty Images)
