Christian Pulisic lifted his first trophy for AC Milan as he once again led a fightback which saw his team come from behind and beat rivals Inter 3-2 in the Italian Super Cup final.
The USMNT international scored a wonderful goal on 80 minutes during the final in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Monday to make it 2-2, after the Rossoneri had trailed by two goals to Simone Inzaghi’s men either side of half-time.
Then in added time Pulisic played a sublime defence-splitting pass, which allowed Rafael Leao to slide the ball across goal for Tammy Abraham to tap into the net and clinch their first silverware since 2022.
It was a suitably dramatic ending to a game which Milan were only in thanks to another Pulisic salvation act at the same Al-Awal stadium on Friday. In the semi-final he helped them come from behind again to beat Weston McKennie and Tim Weah’s Juventus 2-1 with another equaliser, before compatriot Yunus Musah forced the own goal that gave them victory.
But Pulisic saved his best for Monday’s final against Serie A’s third-place team, as Milan currently languish in eighth after a patch of indifferent form that saw Paulo Fonseca fired and Sergio Conceicao appointed manager last week.
Things looked bleak for the new man in charge with Inter leading in the showpiece final, but France defender Theo Hernandez pulled a goal back on 52 minutes before Pulisic’s wonderful turn and finish with 10 minutes of ordinary time remaining.
The 26-year-old former Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund attacker managed to squeeze in his left-footed strike past goalkeeper Yann Sommer, despite being surrounded by blue and black shirts, after a smart turn.
Then he showed his creative genius in the third minute of added time with the left-footed pass that created Abraham’s winner. Cutting in off the right flank, the American went past defender Carlos Augusto and then, spotting Leao’s darting run into the area, he played an inch-perfect pass that split Inters covering duo Alessandro Bastonu and Kristjan Asllani, enabling Leao to simply turn the ball across goal at close range for Abraham to convert.
For new boss Conceicao it meant wins over Juventus and Inter in his first two games in charge.
And for the Rossoneri the trophy might galvanise a season that had began to drift, but sees them still in the Champions League and able to fight for qualification for that tournament again next season via the league, even if the Scudetto seems beyond them as they trail leaders Napoli by 17 points.
But in many ways this final will be remembered for Pulisic’s game-changing role. He has now made 22 appearances in all competitions for Milan this season, scoring nine goals and providing six assists as he flourishes into a talismanic performer.
Capped 76 times by the USMNT, he has registered two goals and two assists in three appearances under new head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
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