27 August 2023 , 02:06
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By enjoying a dream home debut in Serie A for AC Milan, Christian Pulisic has ratcheted up Chelsea's fears of looking silly for selling the American forward while splashing around money at the position he occupied.
To make matters worse for Blues decision-makers, it was midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek who teed up Pulisic for what amounted to a tap-in. Loftus-Cheek spent virtually his whole life in west London, only to never get an extended role in the squad.
And Rafael Leao, whom Chelsea have courted for years, assisted in AC Milan's 4-1 romp of Torino to complete the Stamford Bridge connections.
Pulisic completed 96 percent of his passes and was lively as Torino found themselves pinned deep in their own half for long stretches.
In his first match of the year, away at Bologna, Pulisic blasted a shot into the net from outside the box, pounding his chest and roaring as he wheeled away in celebration. His second goal made him the fifth player in modern AC Milan history to score in his first two Serie A outings, joining Oliver Bierhoff, Andriy Shevchenko, Mario Balotelli and Jeremy Menez.
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The 24-year-old feels no regrets after leaving Chelsea, the club that moved on to newer signings such as Mykhaylo Mudryk but have yet to see the desired results. "It just felt like the perfect step for my career, I feel really welcome and excited to be part of [AC Milan]," Pulisic told DAZN earlier this month. "For me, just a great start personally. Nice to get a goal, while a clean sheet and a win are always nice."
AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli is grateful the club made aggressive moves after an ineffective 2022 summer transfer window. Pulisic is among his favourites.
"I always knew Pulisic was a talent, this was never in doubt," Pioli told DAZN. "In the phone call I had with him before he signed it was evident that he was bringing a lot of quality to the squad."
Christian Pulisic has scored in each of his first two AC Milan games. (Getty Images)The United States men's national team winger was joined on the field on Saturday by fellow American Yunus Musah, a midfielder who starred for the Stars and Stripes at the 2022 World Cup. Musah, 20, has looked up to Pulisic since fully committing to the USMNT cause over England.
"Yeah, he's done it again, he's done it again," Musah said about Pulisic when the forward risked his body to score against Iran. "He brings a lot to the team. A great guy off the field, a very nice guy. And on the field, everyone sees his brilliance.
"He's there at the right time in the right space. So, I'm very happy that he's my teammate, I always get to learn from him and he's a great guy."
Chelsea drew with Liverpool and were beaten 3-1 by West Ham to start the season. They steadied themselves on Friday, though, with a convincing 3-0 win over Luton Town and might forget any Pulisic regret if they string together victories.