After an impressive Serie A debut in a 2-0 win over Bologna, Christian Pulisic continued to show his sublime form when contributing to AC Milan’s 4-1 victory over Torino in round 2.
Coach Stefano Pioli kept the starting lineup with a 4-3-3 tactical scheme like in the clash with Bologna in the first round. In particular, Christian Pulisic continues to be assigned the role of a right-sided striker, next to Olivier Giroud (center) and Rafael Leao (left), forming a trio in attack.
It was Pulisic who started AC Milan’s fiery day with the opening goal in the 33rd minute. It was the situation where the US national team teamed up with Ruben Loftus-Cheek and his final shot. Pulisic in a very favorable position did not give goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic any chances to save.
In addition to the above goal, the former Chelsea player has 2 more shots on target, touches the ball 38 times, launches 25/26 accurate passes (rate of 96%), creates 1 key pass, has 3 /5 situations won a duel, 1 successful air battle, and 1 interception.
The player born in 1998 showed his ability to adapt very well to the new environment and along with other rookies like Loftus-Cheek, Tijjani Reijnders had many good coordination. So far, after 2 rounds, Pulisic has scored 2 goals, promoting his strengths, such as holding the ball to break through, creating a key pass, and delicate finishing.
In every 90 minutes, the American winger has 2.0 shots, 1.0 successful dribbles, and 1.5 key passes. He also improved a little bit of support from afar with 1.0 interceptions, 3.0 ball recoveries. However, Pulisic’s crosses from the inside were not satisfactory.
Back in the match against Torino , in the last 20 minutes, when the Rossoneri were sure of victory, coach Pioli made many changes, especially in attack. The Parma-born leader withdrew Giroud and Leao to rest, bringing Noah Okafor and Samuel Chukwueze into the field but still trusted Pulisic to finish the game.
At that time, the role in the center of attack belonged to Okafor, while Chukwueze drifted to the right and Pulisic was pushed to the left. The former Chelsea star is inherently right-footed but can operate in both corridors. In addition, Pulisic can also play the role of an attacker, or play as a true striker.
This season, AC Milan is very determined to overthrow Napoli, thereby regaining the lost Scudetto title. They also do not hide their ambition to reach out in the prestigious Champions League arena. Rookies like Pulisic are blowing fresh air into the Rossoneri, helping Stefano Pioli have more solutions in deploying tactical intentions.