Christian Pulisic flattered to deceive as AC Milan were thumped 5-1 by Inter in the Derby della Madonnina on Saturday.
Milan endured a terrible derby, with Inter well superior at San Siro on Saturday.
A clever Henrikh Mkhitaryan finish and a brilliant goal from Marcus Thuram put them in full control going into half-time. Pulisic failed to leave his mark on the match at all during the first 45 minutes, and was removed just 11 minutes into the second half.
Rafael Leao gave the Rossoneri hope, but another strike from Mkhitaryan and a Hakan Calhanoglu penalty, along with a late Davide Frattesi goal, gave Inter a thumping win over their rivals. Fellow U.S. international Yunus Musah entered the fray with five minutes to spare, but it was too little too late for the 20-year-old to land an impact on the match.
Inter offered real threat in the first half and were a goal up within 10 minutes, as Mkhitaryan turned the ball home in a crowded penalty box.
A goal of the season contender then came from Thuram, as he dropped his shoulder on the left corner of the box and cut inside before unleashing a hellacious strike into the top corner to make it 2-0.
Milan made tactical changes, including bringing off Pulisic, and Leao then made it 2-1 with a cool finish when one-on-one with Yann Sommer, but it was a short-lived reprieve. Three more goals followed and the Rossoneri left the pitch with their heads hanging low.
A dismal performance from Pulisic’s side, although one that he is hardly to blame for.
Pulisic has impressed since his arrival in Italy, scoring twice in his opening three games. Here, though, he barely even had a chance to test Sommer, as Milan were so overrun by their bitter rivals in the first half.
The ex-Chelsea winger had a great international break with the USMNT, but it did not transition over as he and his team-mates suffered a thrashing at the hands of their rivals Saturday. Musah, unfortunately, had next to no time to make any sort of impact, given the state of the game at the time of his introduction.
He could only watch on as Frattesi added a fifth.
