Pulisic Powers AC Milan to Serie A Summit While Seizing Early Golden Boot Race
Christian Pulisic maintained his impressive streak for AC Milan during a commanding 2–1 victory against defending Serie A titleholders Napoli. Following this triumph, the Rossoneri have secured the top position in Serie A standings.
The United States men's national team forward contributed to the early scoring with an assist, making a penetrating run into the penalty area before providing a precise low cross to Alexis Saelemaekers for an easy finish in the opening three minutes.
Subsequently, the 27-year-old netted what proved to be the decisive goal, unleashing a strike beyond keeper Alex Meret following Strahinja Pavlović's explosive forward surge that enabled him to play the ball back to Youssouf Fofana, who then teed up Pulisic's 31st-minute winner.
These two goal involvements elevated Pulisic to four strikes and two assists across the opening five Serie A matches of the campaign, placing him at the summit of the Italian premier division's scoring charts, while surpassing Kevin De Bruyne, who converted Napoli's solitary goal from the penalty mark.
Pulisic's overall tally across all tournaments also increased to six goals and two assists, having netted twice previously in Coppa Italia action.
Beyond Pulisic's pair of goal contributions, he also generated two scoring opportunities and successfully completed 23 of his 24 attempted passes before exiting the contest in the 59th minute, as Milan managed to secure victory despite playing with ten players following Pervis Estupinán's dismissal in the 57th minute.
"The feeling is amazing, truly, just the team's character, and how we battled even after receiving the red card, we really left everything on the pitch, and it's an extraordinary sensation for us right now," Pulisic commented after the match. "This delivers a statement, we're a quality side, we're a resilient team, we can find the net, but we can also defend like that, and we possess great character, so it demonstrates plenty without doubt."
Pulisic and Milan now turn their focus to another crucial league encounter, as they gear up to meet Juventus on Oct. 5, in a fixture that will showcase, potentially, the two finest players from North America in Pulisic and New York-born Canadian international Jonathan David.
Following that clash, Pulisic will presumably shift his focus to the USMNT as manager Mauricio Pochettino's squad prepares for exhibition matches against Ecuador on Oct. 10 and Australia on Oct. 14, continuing to develop chemistry ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.