AC Milan kicked off 2024 in winning fashion with Christian Pulisic playing a part in the Rossoneri’s Coppa Italia victory.
Pulisic continued his stellar run of form by assisting once off the bench in Tuesday’s 4-1 Coppa Italia Round of 16 triumph over Cagliari. It marked Pulisic’s fifth assist in all competitions this season and his 12th overall goal involvement since his summer transfer from Chelsea.
Luka Jovic’s first-half brace paired with Chaka Traore’s second half goal put Stefano Pioli’s men on their way to advancement into the quarterfinals. Despite Paulo Azzi’s consolation goal for the visitors, Rafael Leao came off the bench and finished off Pulisic’s set-up pass for a 4-1 scoreline.
Pulisic picked up possession in midfield, spinning into a circle before unleashing Leao upfield. The Portuguese forward curled a right-footed shot into the bottom-right corner for his first goal since Nov. 7.
Pulisic created two offensive chances in his 19-minute cameo, while also winning two duels, and completing one dribble. Since December 2, Pulisic has now scored three goals and registered four assists in eight appearances, continuing a stellar run of from across all competitions.
Piolo admitted he would like to use Pulisic more in midfield this season, but Samuel Chukwueze’s departure due to the African Cup of Nations will force the attacker to stay as a winger.
“I would really like to try Pulisic as a trequartista, he is a very intelligent player,” Pioli said. “But Chukwueze’s departure won’t allow us to do that for a while.”
AC Milan is now unbeaten in its last five matches and will meet the winner of Atalanta-Sassuolo in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals. First though, the Rossoneri will visit Empoli in Serie A play on January 7 before matches against AS Roma, Udinese, and Bologna.
Musah did not make the bench. Is he injured, sick?
Still listed as sick by Fotmob, although today he was listed as doubtful which was better than previous.