One day before his 18th birthday, Christian Pulisic delivered a present of his own.
The U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder scored his first goal of the Bundesliga season, and added two assists in Borussia Dortmund’s 6-0 rout of Darmstadt on Saturday.
Pulisic raced in off the right flank and finished off a Raphael Guerreiro pass into an open net in the 54th minute for his third career Bundesliga goal. He set up Dortmund’s fourth goal in the 78th minute from the left flank, sending a low pass to Gonzalo Castro, who redirected it with a nifty left-footed shot. Pulisic set up the final goal of the rout when he crossed a ball in from the right flank that Emre Mor settled and slotted home.
Pulisic made the most of his second straight start for Dortmund, having impressed in a one-assist outing in a UEFA Champions League rout of Legia Warsaw.
Dortmund has been dealing with injuries to midfielders Marco Reus, and more recently Andre Schurrle, which has opened the door for Pulisic to build on the impressive form he showed for the USMNT in recent World Cup qualifying victories against St. Vincent & The Grenadines and Trinidad & Tobago.
Pulisic and Dortmund return to action on Tuesday with a Bundesliga match at Wolfsburg.
Here’s a closer look at Pulisic’s goal:
Christian Pulisic scores! The 17-year-old American is on fire. https://t.co/c790hMHRlj
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) September 17, 2016