Christian Pulisic needed only two minutes and 47 seconds to make his Champions League statement.
He kicked off the opening day of soccer’s preeminent club competition with a fine goal to put AC Milan ahead of Liverpool.
The English visitors eventually came back, and bossed the game, and won, deservedly, 3-1. But Pulisic still starred on a banner night for Americans in Europe.
Pulisic, once a teen phenom, spent his early 20s in a borderline toxic environment at Chelsea. He should’ve been rising into his prime; instead, he was frantically treading water among a bloated squad, battling for playing time and constantly adjusting to new managers.
When he played, he was often pretty good, and occasionally very good. But he was inconsistent. He was a young adult still trying to find himself, on the field and in this world. At times, the arc of his career seemed to have plateaued. His development, it seemed, had stagnated.
Last summer, though, he escaped the turmoil and malaise at Chelsea. He landed in Milan, and almost instantly proved that he’d been a victim of circumstance, rather than of developmental stagnation. He quickly won over Italian fans — and teammates and coaches — with clutch goals and dogged work. He strung together a full season of consistency.
He finished with 12 goals and eight assists in Serie A, both career highs; and 15 goals, 10 assists in total. He was named to the Italian league’s Team of the Season. Simultaneously, he also became the U.S. men’s national team’s leader and most reliable player.
The only lingering questions related to his underlying numbers: Had Pulisic perhaps rode a hot-but-unsustainable finishing streak to his breakout season? Were his Expected Goal and Expected Assist rates — which were not career highs — signs that regression was coming?
In Year 2 at AC Milan, Pulisic has already begun to answer those questions. He has two goals — albeit a penalty and a tap-in — and two assists in four Serie A games.
And in his 2024-25 Champions League debut, he showcased the breadth of his skill set. He picked up the ball in transition. He carried it some 40 yards, driving into space. He pinged it past Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, through a narrow window, into the far side netting.
And he expanded the body of evidence that he is, in fact, a star at soccer’s highest level. According to Opta, no player has contributed to more goals for a Serie A team than Pulisic’s 30 since his arrival last summer.
30 – Christian Pulisic’s third-minute goal on Tuesday was his 30th goal contribution in all competitions for Milan (18 goals, 12 assists).
No player has contributed to more goals for a Serie A team than Pulisic since he joined Milan at the start of last season. Home. pic.twitter.com/kiCHJzryFl
— OptaJack⚽️ (@OptaJack) September 17, 2024
Other Champions League results, USMNT performers
Pulisic wasn’t the only American in action Tuesday. Earlier in the day, 80 miles west of Milan, in Turin, Weston McKennie scored for Juventus.
It’s the first time two USMNT players have scored in the Champions League on the same day, according to statistician Paul Carr.
And that Juventus-PSV Eindhoven game — won by Juve, 3-1 — featured five U.S. players (McKennie, Tim Weah, Malik Tillman, Richy Ledezma, Ricardo Pepi), the most in any one Champions League match, ever.
Elsewhere in the competition, Aston Villa won its first modern Champions League match, 3-0 over BSC Young Boys in Bern, Switzerland.
Bayern Munich smashed Dinamo Zagreb, 9-2.
Sporting Clube de Portugal beat Lille, 2-0.
And Real Madrid, after struggling with Stuttgart, pulled out a 3-1 win — meaning the favorites were victorious in all six Tuesday matches.