Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie became the first U.S. international duo to score a goal in the UEFA Champions League on the same day when Europe’s top competition returned on Tuesday.
Pulisic scored AC Milan’s early lead in their Champions League match against Liverpool, shortly before McKennie scored the second goal in Juventus’ 3-1 win over PSV Eindhoven.
The game at San Siro was less than three minutes old when Pulisic played a one-two with Álvaro Morata, broke through on the right and then shot into the bottom corner.
For Pulisic, who turns 26 on Wednesday, it was a fitting way to celebrate his birthday, but Milan failed to capitalize on Pulisic’s early goal and lost 3-1.
“It’s a bad result for us,” Pulisic told Sky Italy. “We have to find solutions to improve and win games.”
“We had energy at certain moments, but I have to analyse the game. It seems like we can’t get going and can’t keep the ball in the opponent’s half.”
The result means that Milan have only managed one win in their first five games this season.
“Yes, it’s a difficult start (to the season). We’re not happy about it. We need to change things and improve.”
Pulisic became the first American to play in a Champions League final when he won the competition with Chelsea in 2021.
Three other Americans also played on the opening day of the revamped Champions League: Ricardo Pepi, Malik Tillman and Richie Ledezma played for PSV. Others of their compatriots – such as Borussia Dortmund’s Gio Reyna and injured Juventus striker Tim Weah – could feature later this week or as the competition progresses.
Given the large number of players competing at the highest level of club football, this can only be good news for new US coach Mauricio Pochettino as the Americans prepare for a home World Cup in 2026.
Pulisic moved to Milan before the start of last season and had an impressive debut season with the Italian side, scoring 15 goals in all competitions.
This made Pulisic the first midfielder since Kaka in the 2005/06 season to score more than ten goals for Milan (not including penalties).
Kaka was at Tuesday’s game at San Siro and gave a short speech to the Rossoneri fans before kick-off. The former Brazilian international and World Cup winner played for Milan for six seasons and helped the club win its last Champions League title in 2007.
Pulisic also got off to a brilliant start in the current season, with two goals and two assists in Milan’s first four Serie A games.
On Sunday, Milan will next face city rivals Inter.
“Yes, of course it’s a big game,” said Pulisic. “We have to be ready to fight and give everything because we can make the difference.”
Information from ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
