Pulisic double steers Milan to big win at Udinese
Christian Pulisic marked his return to the AC Milan starting line-up with two goals and an assist in an emphatic 3-0 win at Udinese that lifted the visitors to third in the Serie A standings.
Milan moved on to nine points, the same as Napoli, which has a game in hand, and one behind early-season leader Juventus, which dropped points at Verona earlier in the day.
Pulisic had been on the bench for Milan’s past two games but, restored to the starting XI, made a major impact, breaking the deadlock in the 40th minute when Pervis Estupinan’s cross from the left was deflected towards his own goal by Udinese’s Thomas Kristensen.
While goalkeeper Razvan Sava instinctively stopped the ball crossing the line, it rebounded perfectly into Pulisic’s path for an easy put away.
Milan’s lead was doubled inside the first minute of the second half when Pulisic challenged Jesper Karlstrom for the ball in the Udinese penalty area, forcing it to spill into the path of Youssouf Fofana, who cut inside and shot a low effort into the back of the net.
United States international Pulisic scored his second goal in the 53rd minute to end home hopes, catching out Sava at his near post as he squeezed in a tight shot.
It was Udinese’s first defeat of the season, leaving it on seven points and sitting sixth in the Italian top flight.
Milan has not had as comprehensive a winning margin in Serie A since it beat Udinese 4-0 away in April in the closing months of last season.
