Christian Pulisic admitted he’s been surprised by how difficult Serie A has been during his debut campaign in the Italian top flight.
Pulisic has been a hit with AC Milan during his first season in Italy, scoring a career-best 13 goals in all competitions while adding eight assists.
The U.S. men’s national team star has been a fixture for the Rossoneri after several years at Chelsea where he struggled to lock down a regular place in the lineup.
Pulisic has been part of a growing trend of American players in Serie A, with Yunus Musah playing alongside him in Milan while Weston McKennie and Tim Weah feature for Juventus.
Those four players are set to clash on Saturday when Milan faces Juventus, with Pulisic and McKennie appearing on ESPN’s “Futbol Americas” ahead of the match.
“I’ve actually been surprised with how difficult a lot of the games are in this league,” Pulisic said. “I think it’s been a great test for me.”
Speaking about how he’s managed to have so much success in Milan, the USMNT star added: “I think a lot of that comes down to just being given the opportunities here. I’ve had a lot of time on the field to show what I can do and have been given a creative role and a lot of freedom as well at times, which has been a huge part of getting that self-belief back and growing that confidence.”
McKennie has always been known as a high-motor player, but said that playing in Italy has taught him how to run smarter, not necessarily harder.
“[Serie A] really helped me grow from more of a tactical standpoint and positional standpoint as well,” McKennie said.
“I was in Germany before and I was the workhorse still. I was running everywhere and trying to get into everything and maybe running 60 yards when I only needed to run 20 and get the same job done.
“So I think that Italy definitely helped me out that way, because this is a very tactical league, very defensive league as well. So for me, it helped me out a lot.”
With six matches to play, Milan and Juventus are battling for second place in Serie A. Milan currently holds a five-point lead over Juve, having fallen 2-1 to city rival Inter on Monday in a match that clinched the league title for the Nerazzurri.
Watch Pulisic and McKennie’s full interview
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