Tag: AC Milan

Pulisic may yet be dropped by new AC Milan coach, Lalas says

All bets could be off if a new coach doesn’t rate Pulisic, the ex-USMNT defender says

Christian Pulisic’s outstanding season at AC Milan may not count for much if a new head coach doesn’t rate him, according to Alexi Lalas.

Pulisic has set a career high in goals with 13 during his first season with AC Milan following a transfer from Chelsea last summer.

But the coach who brought him to Milan and offered a regular starting role, Stefano Pioli, appears to be heading for the exit at the end of the season, per multiple reports.

Pulisic has credited Pioli on multiple occasions with offering him the platform he needed to reignite his career. But it appears the U.S. national team star will now have to prove himself all over again leading into the 2024-25 campaign.

Speaking on his State of the Union Podcast, Lalas said that coaching changes won’t be anything new for Pulisic, but losing Pioli certainly won’t be a positive development for the 25-year-old.

“He’s been around long enough, he’s a grizzled veteran, even at a relatively young age in his career, and he’s seen how quickly things can change,” the former USMNT defender said.

“I got a question on X this morning about, ‘Has he done enough?’ Yeah, he’s done more than enough to prove his worth, to prove his value to Milan. Matter of fact, I think you could argue he’s been their best player.

“It doesn’t matter because when there is a changing of the guard, there’s often a change of mentality and you have people that come in with their preconceived notions and their baggage and their direction that they want to go.

“Who knows? Christian Pulisic might be in a place that thousands of players have been, where they are just not part of the plans going forward. The good part for Christian Pulisic is I think there will be a lot of suitors out there.”

Pulisic and Milan will face Juventus in Serie A on Saturday in a game that could feature four USMNT players, with Yunus Musah lining up for Milan and Weston McKennie and Tim Weah featuring for the Bianconeri.

Watch Lalas on Pulisic’s AC Milan situation

Pulisic admits he’s been surprised by Serie A difficulty

The USMNT star has set a career high in goals this season, but says it hasn’t been easy

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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Pulisic, Musah can do little as Inter beats AC Milan to clinch Serie A title

The USMNT pair was subdued as Inter clinched its 20th Serie A title

Inter clinched the Serie A championship in the most satisfying way possible, defeating arch-rival AC Milan 2-1 on Monday to lock up the title.

The destination of the Scudetto hasn’t been in doubt for months, as Simone Inzaghi’s side has enjoyed a commanding advantage atop the table for most of the season.

The Rossoneri at least wanted to prevent their rivals from clinching the title in the derby though, but could do little to slow down the Nerazzurri at the San Siro.

U.S. duo Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah both started the match for Milan in unfamiliar positions. Pulisic played wide left in the place of Rafael Leão, who started at striker. Musah, meanwhile, occupied Pulisic’s typical role out wide right.

Both had quiet games, especially Pulisic, who could hardly make an impact on the night as Inter’s league-best defense did well to bottle the American up.

Inter took the lead 18 minutes in after some disastrous Milan set-piece marking left Francesco Acerbi unmarked for a header on the doorstep.

The lead would be doubled minutes after the break, after a well-struck shot from Marcus Thuram beat Mike Maignan at his near post.

Fikayo Tomori gave Milan a lifeline with a close-range finish in the 80th minute, but the Rossoneri couldn’t find the second they needed to avoid watching their rivals kick off wild celebrations in front of their eyes.

The end of the match was marred by two separate clashes between the teams that resulted in a total of three red cards. Theo Hernández and Davide Calabria were sent off for Milan and Denzel Dumfries saw red for Inter.

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AC Milan’s trophy hopes dashed as Roma claims Europa League semifinal place

Milan had high hopes for this season, but will end it without even a final after a frustrating loss to Roma

Just like that, AC Milan’s entire season boils down to qualifying for the Champions League.

The Rossoneri’s last chance at silverware ended in frustration on Thursday, as a 2-1 loss at Roma completed a 3-1 aggregate defeat at the hands of the club’s Serie A rivals.

Even an early Zeki Çelik red card wasn’t enough for Milan, who couldn’t solve Daniele De Rossi’s side after falling behind in the game’s opening stages.

“Roma deserved it. They put more quality on the pitch than us,” a downbeat Milan boss Stefano Pioli said in a post-match interview with RAI Sport. “I expected the team to play better and win. I’m not satisfied with tonight’s effort.”

The loss means that Milan — who trail city rivals Inter by a whopping 14 points in Serie A — has little to play for beyond sealing a place in next year’s Champions League.

Atalanta (who also advanced to the Europa League semifinals on Wednesday with a 3-1 aggregate win over Liverpool) knocked Pioli’s club out of the Coppa Italia back in January, and with Roma advancing at the Stadio Olimpico, an all-Italy final may still await.

For Milan, however, this will go down as a strange, disappointing day at the office. Roma’s 1-0 win at the San Siro was already a difficult scoreline to overturn, and the Rossoneri did seemingly everything possible to make the situation worse in the second leg’s early minutes.

Just 12 minutes in, Milan stood by passively as Lorenzo Pellegrini’s curler smacked off the post, then collectively continued to watch as Gianluca Mancini waltzed in to steer the rebound home.

Roma dropped off, but maintained a direct threat that Milan would rue just 10 minutes later. Romelu Lukaku couldn’t make the initial attack count, but again the second phase favored Roma: the loose ball fell to Paulo Dybala for a ruthless finish.

Still, Milan got a lifeline, with Çelik getting a 31st-minute red card after a wild swipe took Rafael Leão out from behind.

Meanwhile, the game descended into odd territory. The rain in Rome turned to sleet, while the teams combined to make three substitutions before halftime. Lukaku left with an injury in the 28th minute, while both clubs made tactical changes due to the red card, the scoreline, and the nature of cup soccer.

Pioli kept throwing numbers at Milan’s problems, and two more halftime substitutions saw a move to a 4-1-3-2 formation with Christian Pulisic playing underneath two out-and-out strikers, while his U.S. men’s national teammate Yunus Musah was stationed at right back.

The problem for Milan? None of this particularly worked, and despite attempting 20 shots, the Rossoneri were unable to truly worry Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar.

Only once Milan seemed to have accept defeat did the breakthrough come, though Matteo Gabbia’s 85th minute goal was nothing but a consolation.

Milan’s work this season isn’t over, with the next week including games against Inter and Juventus. However, with Serie A virtually certain to go to the blue half of the city and Milan nearly mathematically sure of a spot in next season’s Champions League, April and May will be as much about sorting out where a promising season went wrong as it is anything else.

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Report: AC Milan prepared to extend Pulisic’s contract

Amid an outstanding season, the American star is already in line for an extension

AC Milan is reportedly prepared to extend Christian Pulisic’s contract by one season.

According to Monday’s edition of Corriere dello Sport, Milan has already been sufficiently impressed by the American to exercise its option to extend his deal by an extra campaign.

Pulisic signed a contract through 2027 when he joined the Rossoneri from Chelsea in the summer, and he could now see his deal extended through 2028.

The report comes amid a season in which Pulisic has already set a career high for goals with 13 in all competitions, including 10 in Serie A. Only three players have more non-penalty Serie A goals than Pulisic this season, and only five have more combined goals and assists.

Corriere dello Sport called Pulisic his club’s “best summer signing,” adding that the 25-year-old is feeling settled and happy with life in Italy after spending four seasons in England.

Milan head coach Stefano Pioli was full of praise for Pulisic after his latest goal, which came in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Lecce.

“I must say that when I have video meetings to explain to a player what our path and ideas are, I’m rarely wrong about personal and character sensations,” the coach told DAZN. “Pulisic is a quality player, I already knew him. But when we spoke two or three times I heard something very positive. I saw desire and curiosity in him. I found everything I had heard.

“He’s not a guy who opens up a lot, it’s not what makes the difference but his attitude does. He has a fantastic attitude, about the team and about everyone. An exemplary worker and professional like all Milan players, this has raised the level of professionalism and seriousness that will help the group become ever stronger.”

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Pulisic’s banner season continues with sensational strike at Lecce

The USMNT star scored his 13th goal of the season just six minutes in

The Christian Pulisic at No. 10 experiment didn’t take long to prove a huge success.

The U.S. men’s national team star was played at the trequartista role for AC Milan’s match against Lecce on Saturday, and he only took six minutes to find the net with an outstanding strike.

Samuel Chukwueze did some great work on the right flank before cutting a pass back to Pulisic at the top of the box. From there, the American cut onto his left foot and fired a shot that took a slight deflection on the way into the far corner.

It was the 13th goal of the season for Pulisic in all competitions, and his 10th in Serie A. Having already set a career high for total goals, the Pennsylvania native has now reached double figures in league goals for the first time in his career.

Pulisic has been used as a wide attacker in Stefano Pioli’s 4-2-3-1 setup this season, but with normal No. 10 Ruben Loftus-Cheek suspended on Saturday, Pioli gave the USMNT star the chance to play inside.

Pioli’s decision paid off quickly at the San Siro. Milan would go on to win 3-0, as Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leão added goals in a comfortable victory.

Speaking to DAZN after the game, Pioli was full of praise for his American forward.

“I must say that when I have video meetings to explain to a player what our path and ideas are, I’m rarely wrong about personal and character sensations,” the coach said. “Pulisic is a quality player, I already knew him. But when we spoke two or three times I heard something very positive. I saw desire and curiosity in him. I found everything I had heard.

“He’s not a guy who opens up a lot, it’s not what makes the difference but his attitude does. He has a fantastic attitude, about the team and about everyone. An exemplary worker and professional like all Milan players, this has raised the level of professionalism and seriousness that will help the group become ever stronger.”

Watch Pulisic’s goal vs. Lecce

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AC Milan boss Pioli: Pulisic could play No. 10 role vs. Lecce

The USMNT star may get a shot at a new role this weekend

Christian Pulisic has excelled for AC Milan this season as a wide attacking player, but it appears he could get a shot to play as a No. 10 this weekend.

Milan will face Lecce in a Serie A match on Saturday at San Siro, with the club’s usual No. 10, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, suspended after picking up a yellow card last weekend.

That leaves head coach Stefano Pioli with a conundrum. With three in-form attacking players in Pulisic, Samuel Chukwueze and Rafael Leão, Pioli could be tempted to try and fit them all into the same lineup in Loftus-Cheek’s absence.

The coach said at his pre-match press conference that he could play Pulisic as the No. 10 in his 4-2-3-1 formation, with Chukwueze and Leão on either side and Olivier Giroud at striker.

“It’s a solution we are evaluating,” said Pioli of the setup.

Chukwueze has struggled for much of his first season at Milan after a summer move from Villarreal, but the Nigeria winger has started to turn things around over the past several games.

“I am delighted with Chukwu,” Pioli said. “My collaborators showed him some videos today, and the stats we collected in the last three games are even superior to those from his time at Villarreal. He is fit, physically and mentally, he must continue like this. He has important characteristics for the attack.”

In January, Pioli indicated he’d like to try Pulisic as the No. 10 — or trequartista — at some stage, but he couldn’t at that point with Chukwueze away at the Africa Cup of Nations.

It seems like Saturday could be the time for Pulisic to play his first minutes in Milan as a trequartista.

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Pulisic’s father: It’s a misconception he disappointed at Chelsea

Mark Pulisic said that his son simply wasn’t given a consistent chance with the Blues

Christian Pulisic’s father has defended his son’s time at Chelsea, saying that it’s a “misconception” he disappointed with the Premier League giants.

Pulisic struggled to find consistent playing time during his spell in London, setting a career low in minutes last season before moving to AC Milan in the summer.

But the U.S. national team star also experienced his share of highs during his four years with Chelsea, as he scored 26 total goals and helped the Blues win the 2020-21 Champions League.

According to Mark Pulisic, his son didn’t disappoint at Chelsea as much as he simply wasn’t given a consistent chance to impress.

“For me it’s not true that Christian disappointed at Chelsea. He simply didn’t play regularly,” Mark said on his podcast, as recorded by Gazzetta dello Sport.

“For me he is now reaching his peak, he is 25 years old, he works hard to develop his game and is respected by his teammates.”

Pulisic has thrived in his first season in Milan, receiving the consistent minutes he never could while at Chelsea. The USMNT star has already set a career high in goals with 12 while starting almost every week.

Pulisic’s father credited Milan coach Stefano Pioli for giving his son the latitude to make mistakes, as well as some former Chelsea teammates for helping him adjust to the Rossoneri.

“Christian has had everyone’s trust,” he said. “Pioli trusts him, he always lets him play and doesn’t immediately replace him if things go wrong. Then he likes Milan and he always speaks well of his teammates. Fikayo Tomori and Olivier Giroud helped him a lot when it came to choosing Milan.”

Though Pulisic is thriving in Milan, his father stopped short of saying that he could stay for the rest of his career. The forward’s time at Chelsea taught him that nothing in the game is permanent.

“Football changes quickly and we have understood for some time that this is a business. You can only think in the short term,” Mark said.

Still, Pulisic’s father insisted his son has no desire to go anywhere else in the near future.

“Let’s be clear: Christian loves Milan and wants to stay. He lives in Busto Arsizio to be close to Milanello (Milan’s training center). He’s learning to speak Italian and he gets on very well with teammates like Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Yunus Musah.”

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Pulisic credits Pioli for AC Milan success: ‘He’s come through on his promises’

The USMNT forward has already set a career high in goals this season

Amid a career-best season in Italy, Christian Pulisic has credited AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli for keeping his promises.

In his first season with Milan, Pulisic has already set a career high for goals in all competitions with 12. After entering the international break on a run of four straight games with a goal, the American forward still has a minimum of 11 games remaining this season to add to his haul.

Pulisic struggled for regular playing time during the end of his spell at Chelsea, but he’s started 25 of Milan’s 29 league games so far. Speaking to Fox Sports, Pulisic said Pioli has held up his end of the bargain after lobbying for him to join Milan last summer.

“He has really come through on his promises,” Pulisic said. “It’s not just knowing you’re going to play — it’s having someone who really spoke to me before and really wanted me to come in.

“He’s given me an opportunity to go out and be myself the best way I know how, and has fit into what works best for the team. I think we’ve found a good balance of that.”

Pioli has been under pressure at times this season, but the coach appears to have steadied the ship of late. Milan is currently second place in the Serie A table and has reached the last eight of the Europa League, where a meeting with Italian rival Roma awaits.

Pulisic also spoke highly of the lifestyle in Milan, which he said has been a refreshing change of pace after five years in London.

“The lifestyle over here is definitely a shift from London,” Pulisic said. “Everything feels a bit slowed-down. Obviously nicer weather. It’s been a great change for me.

“Everything was moving kind of 100 miles an hour when I was in London, and the football culture was crazy. Here, I’ve been able to get away from the game, too, and enjoy the lifestyle, the culture, the food. I’m liking it a lot.”

Pulisic will aim to add to his record goal haul on Saturday, when Milan visits Fiorentina in a Serie A match.

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Giroud reportedly set for LAFC move this summer

Giroud could well be linking up with France teammate Hugo Lloris in the near future

Olivier Giroud is set to be the latest big name to move from Europe to MLS.

Per The Athletic, the AC Milan striker is in the final stages of contract talks with Los Angeles FC over a summer transfer that would come once his contract with the Rossoneri expires.

Giroud, 37, would join fellow France veteran Hugo Lloris on LAFC’s roster should the move go through. The MLS summer transfer window opens on July 18, less than a week after the end of Euro 2024.

With 56 goals in 130 caps, Giroud — France’s all-time leading scorer on the men’s side — is still a pivotal player for les Bleus, and barring injury is expected to play in that tournament.

Fabrizio Romano has reported that LAFC made a formal offer in recent days, with both sides nearing an agreement.

Giroud has had a strong season in Milan, leading the line as Stefano Pioli’s first-choice striker. In 36 total appearances this season, Giroud has a team-leading 14 goals, while his nine assists are third-best on the squad.

Should the move come off, Giroud will give LAFC an out-and-out No. 9 presence that the club has lacked since Cristian “Chicho” Arango’s departure after the 2022 season. Last year, Carlos Vela largely functioned as a false No. 9; since the Mexican forward’s departure this winter, that role has gone to midfielder Mateusz Bogusz.

The club has certainly worked to keep the door open for a signing in line with Giroud, with 2023 MLS Golden Boot winner Dénis Bouanga currently LAFC’s only Designated Player. Steve Cherundolo’s side has had a history with signing prominent, aging European stars, with Gareth Bale playing a critical role in the club’s 2022 MLS Cup triumph.

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