Christian Pulisic’s goal against Hellas Verona might not have been his best, but it was certainly historic as it was AC Milan’s 5,000th goal in Serie A.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, Pulisic continued his trend of scoring important goals. When he does get on the scoresheet Milan often win too, as shown by the 11 victories in the 12 games in which the American netted, with Monza the only exception.
It cannot be said that Pulisic is experiencing a second youth because he is only 25 years old, but in his career he has – football-wise at least – already gone through several existences. He blossomed at Dortmund, Chelsea probably overpaid for him, he got lost, then rediscovered the joy of playing.
Pulisic cost Milan €20m last summer but he has gone beyond all expectations, especially if you consider how his last year at Chelsea went: knee problems, the misery of one goal and two assists in 1,012 minutes of the season.
For Milan it was actually a gamble to bet on him: was Puli a player irremediably lost in the limbo of withered talents, or capable of providing a foothold to be pulled up from the slope? He proved to be the latter.
Gerry Cardinale immediately put him at the centre of the project, not only in a sporting sense but also from a commercial standpoint, knowing how much of a buzz there would be about his arrival back in his home country.
With nine league games still remaining and between two and five in the Europa League, Pulisic has both equaled and surpassed his previous highs in terms of goalscoring.
Yesterday’s was number nine in Serie A, the same figure as in 2019-20, his first year at Chelsea. He is on 12 goals in all comps, which is a record. The previous high was 11, also dating back to 2019-20.
Pulisic scored in Verona, fired a shot against the crossbar and attempted eight dribbles. That is the added value, which goes beyond the goals. In a time where it is increasingly complicated to collectively surprise the opponent, often the difference is simply made by those who have the ability to beat their man and.
Christian’s sharpest weapon, in addition to his technique, is his unpredictability: when he looks at you as a defender, you never know if he will run to the right or to the left. This is an invaluable advantage for those who work on the wing.
It is said that theoretically he would be better off on the left, so that he can cut in on the right, but Rafael Leao is on the flank and so he needed to move to the other side. At a glance, the move was done in a workmanlike manner.
