Tag: Cagliari

Pulisic back scoring for AC Milan after Cagliari brace

Pulisic’s career-best season continued as Milan crushed Cagliari 5-1

Christian Pulisic is looking to end a strong first season with AC Milan on a high note.

The U.S. men’s national team attacker struck twice for Milan in a ruthless second half as the Rossoneri thumped Cagliari 5-1 on Saturday.

The double takes Pulisic up to 12 goals in Serie A this season, and 15 in all competitions. Pulisic’s first multi-goal game with Milan also broke a goalless run over the last month, with the Pennsylvania native’s last goal coming on April 6 in a 3-0 win over Lecce.

Pulisic’s total of 15 goals and nine assists is by some distance his best output over one season. His previous best, an 11 goal/eight assist campaign with Chelsea, came in the 2019-20 season. The output also represents the most productive first season at the club for any Rossoneri player since Carlos Bacca in 2015-16.

Sporting a “Harlow” No. 11 kit as part of a Mother’s Day celebration, Pulisic got the nod despite some rotation from manager Stefano Pioli, and though Milan held a 1-0 edge at halftime, those changes seemed to contribute to a flat performance.

A triple substitution during the break seemed to be just what the doctor ordered, as the Rossoneri upped the tempo to increase their lead.

One of the changes, Rafael Leão, pushed Milan forward after a backheel from USMNT midfielder Yunus Musah caught Cagliari off guard.

The Portugal winger raced into the visitors’ half before showing patience, waiting for Pulisic — who held his run for a moment before sprinting into a seam — before sending the U.S. forward through.

From there, Pulisic made no mistake, racing into the box before firing past a helpless Simone Scuffet.

While Cagliari would offer a quick response to make it 2-1, Milan proceeded to overpower the Serie A strugglers. Tijjani Reijnders’ brilliant long-range goal in the 74th minute seemed to break the will of the club from Sardinia, and the Rossoneri showed no mercy.

Leão would essentially walk a fourth over the line, while Pulisic’s fifth needed some help from goal-line technology.

Noah Okafor’s cross from the endline found Pulisic in a good position, but the latter’s low shot was initially not given, as Yerry Mina lunged in on the line for a possible block.

However, within a moment, referee Simone Sozza gave the goal, signaling that the ball had indeed completely crossed the line.

Watch Pulisic claim a brace vs. Cagliari

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Why Pulisic is wearing a jersey with ‘Harlow’ in AC Milan-Cagliari match

Milan’s No. 11 didn’t wear “Pulisic” on Saturday, but it was, in fact, still the USMNT star

It may not have looked like it on Saturday, but AC Milan’s No. 11 against Cagliari was, in fact, still Christian Pulisic.

Instead of his usual look, Pulisic, along with the rest of his teammates, wore his mother’s maiden name on the back of his jersey for the Serie A clash at San Siro.

That meant that Milan’s No. 11 was “Harlow” rather than “Pulisic” for one match.

On Mother’s Day weekend, Milan’s players took to the pitch wearing their mothers’ maiden names, in recognition of a court ruling in April 2022 that said an Italian law automatically giving a child their father’s last name was discriminatory.

Now, both parents have the right to choose which surname their children receive.

Pulisic’s teammate for club and country, Yunus Musah, also started against Cagliari, wearing “Abubakari” on his back instead of his usual surname.

“We are happy and proud of this initiative, born on a special occasion like Mother’s Day to raise public awareness about the equal right to choose the surname of one’s children,” said AC Milan CEO Giorgio Furlani in a club release.

“We are equally pleased with the attention and enthusiasm with which it has been welcomed by Lega Serie A and the participation of several other clubs in our league.”

Along with AC Milan, five other Serie A clubs participated in the initiative on Mother’s Day weekend.

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Musah wonders if getting punched in the head is worth a red card

This sure looked like a red card, but it wasn’t even reviewed by VAR

Like most people who saw the replay, Yunus Musah is wondering how Nahitan Nández could simply punch him in the head and get away with it.

Late in AC Milan’s 3-1 win at Cagliari on Wednesday, Musah appeared to have a pretty clear red card shout when the Uruguay international lashed out in frustration, punching the Milan midfielder in the back of the head and following through.

Despite the Cagliari captain’s clear violation, the referee didn’t spot it and VAR didn’t intervene either. Nández could still potentially face punishment if Serie A chooses to review the incident.

Musah played the final half hour of Milan’s win, which took them level on points atop the Serie A table with city rivals Inter. Christian Pulisic started and turned in a strong performance, playing a major part in Milan’s opener before assisting Ruben Loftus-Cheek for the club’s third.

In a since-deleted post on his Instagram story, Musah offered his take on the incident. The 20-year-old invited his followers to participate in a poll, asking whether Nández should have been shown a red card.

All three options were “yes.”

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