It has been a long wait. Nine months without a goal for Milan, booed off their own pitch in midweek, left out of the international squad entirely. Christian Pulisic needed Sunday, and Sunday delivered.
AC Milan put Lecce away 3-0 at San Siro, with Pulisic getting the party started before Adrien Rabiot and Diego Moreira finished the job. Five games in, Ruben Amorim's side sit fifth in Serie A, unbeaten, with three wins and two draws.
The Goal That Needed to Happen
Pulisic had come off the bench at half-time in his two previous appearances this season. Watching from the touchline while your side gets hammered 2-0 at home by Benfica in the Europa League on Wednesday is not exactly the confidence boost a player needs. But he got his start on Sunday, and he made it count inside 14 minutes.
The build-up was neat, Strahinja Pavlovic picking out a cross-field ball and Pulisic bringing it down with a single touch before shifting onto his left foot and tucking it into the bottom corner. Calm, assured, and completely at odds with the difficult stretch he has been going through. His last goal for Milan had been in December 2025, in a league win over Verona. That is a long time to be waiting for your confidence back.
"It hasn't been an easy year," he said afterwards. "I'm happy about the goal today, but right now all that matters is to keep winning." You can hear the relief in that. No grand declarations, no performance, just a man who wanted to get back to doing his job.
The fact that Mauricio Pochettino has not selected him for the upcoming international window adds another layer. Pulisic scored once for the US in a friendly against Senegal before the 2026 World Cup and was electric in 2025. For whatever reason, the national team door is currently shut. Goals like this are the only language that forces those conversations to change.
Milan Do What Milan Needed to Do
Lecce came into the game with intent. Joel Monteiro and Ivan Ilic both threatened in the opening stages before Pulisic settled things down. Mike Maignan earned his wages with a save from Kialonda Gaspar before the break, and Koni De Winter nodded wide with Pavlovic also going close.
The second half was more controlled. Rabiot doubled the lead on 61 minutes, finishing off a slick team move after a quick exchange with Goncalo Ramos. Then substitute Moreira made it three on 73 minutes, winning the ball in Lecce's half, driving down the left, and sliding a low finish under Wladimiro Falcone. The game was done.
Context matters here. Milan had won only one home game since March. That Benfica defeat midweek had the crowd turning on them. A clean sheet and a comfortable win does not erase everything, but it steadies the ship before the international break.
For those keeping tabs on whether the American generation in European football is delivering, [the question of hype versus reality is always worth asking](/uprise/football/watching-cavan-sullivan-excitement-is-tempered-by-memories-of-hypetrains past). Pulisic, to his credit, keeps answering it.
Our take: One game does not fix a rough year, and Pulisic knows it. But that goal, and that quote after, suggests a player who has kept his head down rather than gone to pieces. Milan need him at his best for the second half of the season. Sunday was a start.