USMNT's Christian Pulisic offers lone sense of hope for inconsistent Milan after poor Champions League start

MILAN -- AC Milan have had a difficult start to the 2024-25 season, but American Christian Pulisic's form is keeping the Rossoneri relevant.  The United States men's national team man has convinced us all that the best is yet to come and he's probably the biggest reason why Milan fans can look at the future with some optimism. The USMNT winger scored again against Liverpool in the opening game of the UEFA Champions League league phase on Tuesday before the Italian giants conceded three times, losing 3-1 at the San Siro. Pulisic scored three minutes into the game, netting his third goal of the season so far but it wasn't enough.

Pulisic, despite the issues of AC Milan and their new manager Paulo Fonseca to find the balance of his side, had a very strong start and already scored three goals in all competitions and also provided two assists to his teammates.

After the goal scored against Parma in the second match of the league, Pulisic provided one assist against Lazio and also another one in last weekend's win against Venezia, when he also scored his second Serie A goal. And then, three minutes into the UCL clash against Liverpool, he scored his first European goal of the season. AC Milan suffered more for their defensive players, who struggled especially from the set pieces in the first half when Ibrahima Konate and Virgil Van Dijk scored twice in few minutes, but once again key players like Rafael Leao were not able to deliver.

That role of leader is now much more closer to Pulisic, as he's the player who is performing the most. More than the goals and the assists of Pulisic, who is by far the most efficient player of the roster, Fonseca knows that the American international is the sole player who can bring the quality that players such as Leao and Samu Chukwueze are not showing right now.

The Portuguese manager can play him in three different roles of the attacking line: as a number ten in 4-2-3-1, as a left and right winger, but the most important thing is that Pulisic is on the pitch because AC Milan can't live without him today. On Sunday, AC Milan will face Inter and after losing the last six derbies in a row, another defeat can mark not the beginning of the end of the Fonseca era, but the final straw.