Pulisic helps Milan to ‘special’ win at Real Madrid

Christian Pulisic hailed AC Milan’s win at the home of Champions League holders Real Madrid as a “really special night” after the United States star helped put the Italian side on the path to a memorable 3-1 victory at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.

Pulisic sent in a corner for Malick Thiaw to head the visitors into a 12th-minute lead before subsequent goals from Álvaro Morata and Tijjani Reijnders ensured back-to-back wins for Milan.

“Amazing result for us,” Pulisic told CBS Sports. “I mean to come here and play is, of course, not easy [because of] their history in the Champions League.

“A tough place to come and play, so for us to put on a performance like that and win the game, obviously a really special night for us.”

Vinícius Júnior had equalized from the penalty spot in the 23rd for Madrid after he’d been tripped in the box.

But Pulisic again played a role as Milan went back ahead. His pass into the box found Rafael Leão, whose shot was saved by Andriy Lunin only for Morata to pounce on the rebound and restore the visitors’ lead against his former club.

Morata had already been given a hostile reception from the home fans, who evidently remember the goal he scored to take Juventus through to the 2015 final at their team’s expense.

Reijnders scored Milan’s third goal as the home fans made their frustrations known at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

It was Milan’s first win against Madrid in 15 years, handing last year’s champions back-to-back defeats for the first time since October 2021.

“We won because the players had the courage to come here and not be afraid of anything, playing the game we wanted,” Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca told a postgame news conference.

“We prepared for a match in which we wanted to keep the ball; in the first half we did important things and in the second half we suffered more, but we deserved to win, no doubt about it.”

Milan now have six points and sit 18th after four of their eight games of the new 36-team league phase of the Champions League, which would be good enough for a spot in the playoffs for the quarterfinals.

It has been a tough start to the season in Serie A, however, with Milan sitting seventh ahead of a trip to Cagliari on Saturday.

“Our coach just said enjoy tonight, we got to rest up tomorrow because we’ve got a big game coming this weekend and if we don’t win that one then this doesn’t mean anything,” Pulisic said.

“So we’re going to try to enjoy as a team tonight, have a little celebration, but tomorrow it’s right back to work.”

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.