AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic and Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie have become key players in two of Italy’s best teams. On Saturday they team up in Milan for the long-awaited match between the Rossoneri and the Bianconeri (you can watch the two stars of the US men’s national team on Paramount+ all season long). On the other hand, although the two American internationals play prominent roles, they could not have followed a less similar path at their clubs over the past few years.
Pulisic temporarily became a central player for AC Milan when he arrived in the summer of 2023 from Chelsea. McKennie, on the other hand, has been away from the team each of the last two summers, looking for a possible exit, but was informed by the club that he was not in their plans. Disagreements arose over the locations of the changes and he is now one of the most notable players under intact coach Thiago Motta.
Pulisic impresses second consecutive coach
Pulisic is one of the easiest players in all of Serie A and has had a great start to the season, scoring seven goals in all competitions and also starting 14 of the 15 games played so far by the Italian giants. . His influence this season has been simply incredible, and it followed a very remarkable first season at the club, where Pulisic scored 15 goals in 50 games played in all competitions. Pulisic has been a model of consistency despite a tumultuous run at the club that led American owner Gerry Cardinale to nominate Paulo Fonseca to replace Stefano Pioli on the bench over the summer.
Pulisic has been one of the club’s easiest signings in recent years. His influence on the team has been perfect since joining the Rossoneri, as he can also be compatible in some tactical positions below Pioli, ahead and now below Fonseca. In fact, he arrived as a complementary option for Milan star Rafael Leao as a left winger, but the former Rossoneri coach temporarily understood that he could not play without him and named him a starter on the right wing of the attack instead of Samu Chukwueze. , with Ruben Loftus-Cheek playing behind the first striker, Olivier Giroud.
When the season began intact with Fonseca, Spanish striker Álvaro Morata replaced Giroud in attack, but Pulisic became the only one basically responsible for leading his teammates forward and up the sound, at which point Leao continues to suffer. with some ups and downs in this first part of the season. The Portuguese winger was widely regarded as the team’s star and the sound’s most talented striker, but Pulisic sports it all wrong. It’s safe to say that many of the best games played by Fonseca’s team this season, such as the 3-1 victory at the Santiago Bernabéu against Real Madrid in the Champions League, have a lot to do with the performances of the American winger.
McKennie fights long-standing rivalry
On Saturday, Pulisic and AC Milan midfielder Yunus Musah may also face two alternative USMNT teammates, as Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah will join Juventus. McKennie’s importance to Juventus cannot be overlooked, but it took him even longer to build his status at the club. The midfielder signed for Juventus in the summer of 2020 and has had an asymmetrical spell at the club. Leeds United’s upcoming mortgage witchcraft in 2023 gave him the impression of being different.
When he returned in the summer, Professor Massimiliano Allegri did not actually consider him a key player and some rumors indicated that he was leaving the club, waiting for the best development. Weeks passed and he began to play more and more games on the preseason excursion, convincing Allegri that he could find some field. The surprise of Paul Pogba and the postponement of Nicolo Fagioli meant that McKennie found the field he needed and played 38 games in all competitions, playing as a central midfielder and also as a winger.
Allegri left in the summer and was replaced by Thiago Motta, and the club once again thought McKennie might be dropped, this time in part due to his promise expiring in the summer of 2025. The American was ignored by the team and seemed impossible to see him again in a Juventus shirt, especially after they refused to fix Aston Villa at the end of June. Once again, he proved everyone wrong. Motta announced that he was back in the team before the first home game of the season against Como and has so far made 12 appearances and scored two goals between Serie A and the UEFA Champions League, showing that he can still be key. Bianconeri participant.
Pulisic and McKennie will meet on Saturday in some of the most exciting matchups of the season. Their condition in the golf clubs is similar, since they demonstrated how noticeable they are throughout these weeks. They just did it in various techniques.
monitor and odds
- Day: Saturday November 23 | Month: 12 pm Eastern Time
- Location: San Siro — Milan, Italy
- They are living waves: Supreme+
- Odd: Milan +120; Draw +220; Juventus +240
