It looked like a play from the NFL.
Christian Pulisic tussled with his blocker and former team-mate, Yacine Adli, then ran a route from inside to out. He got open for Theo Hernandez’s looping ball to the far post, leapt and executed a magnificent 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 contrived to beat a goalkeeper in David de Gea who, otherwise, seemed unbeatable in Florence.
يا عيني على الفخامة يا بوليسيتش 🔥#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 their second defeat in a row in all competitions.
The usually unflappable Paulo Fonseca didn’t want to talk about the referee at the Artemio Franchi. At least not in specifics. “I love this game,” the Milan head coach said, “and don’t wish to contribute to this circus.” The referee had pointed to the spot in favour of Fiorentina and then awarded Milan two penalties. Pulisic, as Milan’s designated taker, could have ended the night with a hat-trick.
But he didn’t take either of them. Theo Hernandez, who was skippering Milan, stepped up for the first one, hoping 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’s history. De Gea thwarted him.
Then Fikayo Tomori caught the ball and handed it to his best friend Tammy Abraham to have a go at the next one. This did not come as a complete surprise. Back in September, Milan were given a couple of penalties against Venezia, too. Pulisic put the first one away then allowed Abraham to take the second. The Englishman had recently joined on loan from Roma and his team-mates wanted to see him get off the mark. Unlike in Florence, where Milan were still seeking an equaliser, they were, on that occasion, 3-0 up at San Siro against a winless promoted side.
Abraham opened his account against Venezia. But De Gea stopped him from adding to it at the weekend.
While Pulisic’s volley drew Milan level shortly afterwards, Fiorentina went on to win and Fonseca couldn’t hide his disappointment at his players disregarding team orders. “Obviously I’ve told the players this can’t happen again. The player who should be taking them is Christian. And I’m pissed off about it.”
The result, the penalty farrago and Hernandez’s late red card dominated the headlines, which could, with a different outcome, been stolen by Pulisic. He won’t forget his goal in a hurry. It was technically his best since his move to Italy a year ago, although he might make a case for his debut strike in Bologna, the one against Frosinone when he brought down a Mike Maignan goal-kick with a velcro-like first touch or his far corner curlers against Monza and Lecce.
Pulisic’s most important goal, no doubt, came last month when he became the first ever American to score in the Derby della Madonnina and stopped a six-game losing streak against Inter, as Milan beat their rivals for the first time in two years.
Pulisic celebrates his goal against Inter (Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Ciancaphoto Studio/Getty Images)
It means that the Pulisic flying home for Mauricio Pochettino’s first games in charge of the USMNT is arguably the best ever Pulisic.
Speaking ahead of matches against Panama on Saturday and Mexico on Tuesday, the 26-year-old said: “Yeah, it’s tough to explain (his form). I think you have moments in your career where it feels like everything you touch goes in, and you have other times when it feels like you’re trying everything and the ball just won’t go in. As an attacking player, we’ve all gone through it. So, I’m just trying to live in that moment right now, when things seem to be going well and just continue like this. It’s a 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 guess.”
His new USMNT coach is pleased too, describing Pulisic as “a great, great player, fantastic player, a player that is going to help now and in the future to put the team in a place that we want. He’s one of the best offensive players in the world.”
But there was also some concern about Pulisic overexerting himself. “He is playing every single game, every single minute. That is also, I think, that we are a little bit worried that sometimes we need to protect (him). We’ll see. Because he arrived a little bit tired. But that is a thing that I told (you) before, is to build a very good relationship with the club and try to help and when we really need him, he needs to be in form happy, 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 team-mate Rafael Leao.
Those who doubted his durability must reckon with the fact he started 44 games for Milan last season and played more than 4,000 minutes for club and country. Initially signed as a No 10 who could cover the wing positions when needed, he kept Samuel Chukwueze out of the side when Stefano Pioli instead opted to play him on the right.
Pulisic is in excellent form (Katie Stratman-Imagn Images)
This season, he is threatening to become Milan’s best overall player. Theo and Leao remain the most talented. But they both blow hot and cold. Pulisic, meanwhile, continues to deliver. He has scored in four consecutive league games for the first time in Europe’s top five leagues, a level of consistency that has, in part, been hidden by Milan’s up-and-down start to the season.
Yunus Musah, his team-mate for club and country, says this is exactly what Pulisic is capable of. “It’s no surprise,” he said on Friday, “but it’s always nice to see him score, helping the team. He’s our (Milan’s) best attacking player right now, and I hope he carries on like that.”
🥁🥁 The September MVP is…. 🥁🥁
Take a bow, @pulisic! 👏@emirates #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/VJ0YV8wdc6
— AC Milan (@acmilan) October 4, 2024
Granted, not every goalscoring performance has been a complete performance. Pulisic scored in the defeat at Parma and then faded, as did the rest of the team. But he played as if possessed against Inter. Pulisic repeatedly drove at their defence, stole the ball off Henrikh Mkhitaryan for his goal, shushed the team’s critics and later nutmegged Alessandro Bastoni, which led the Italy international to then push him to the ground.
“Christian’s participation in our play is more effective,” Fonseca explained to DAZN. It has come about for a number of reasons.
On the one hand, he is maturing and knows the league and his team-mates better. On the other, Milan’s new coaching staff have slightly tweaked his position. In the defeat by Liverpool, Fonseca tried out a different system. Out of possession, Milan played 4-2-4 with a very narrow forward 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’s only playing inside,” Fonseca elaborated. “There are times when he goes wide too. This way he is closer to goal, to shooting and assisting. He knows how to play between the lines and that’s important for me. He has also scored goals like a No 9.”
If only he’d take more penalties. If only he had better support from full-back than Emerson Royal, Milan could get even more bang for their buck. But the €20million (£16.7m; $21.9m) they paid for Pulisic a year ago looks better and better value with each passing game.
The move has worked out for them, for him and, as the World Cup approaches, USMNT.
(Additional contributor: Paul Tenorio)
(Top image: Photo Agency/Getty Images)