PASADENA — Left? Right? Or center?
As American attacker Christian Pulisic settles in with AC Milan after four seasons in London with Chelsea, an exhibition at the Rose Bowl on Sunday versus Real Madrid offered an indication where he could prove most useful for the Rossoneri.
“This is a good preseason to try and figure out where that’s going to be,” Pulisic said prior the match, which ended 3-2 in favor of the Spanish giants before an announced crowd of 70,814.
The versatile 24-year-old U.S. men’s national team forward started on the left for manager Stefano Pioli.
“I expect a lot,” the Italian coach said regarding Pulisic. “He can play in a lot of positions. We expect a lot of quality, a lot of personality and a presence in the field, which he is already showing now.”
Pulisic played 71 minutes, making an early contribution by assisting on a headed goal by Canadian center back Fikayo Tomori in the 25th minute with an in-swinging corner kick.
“We need him to be his confident self,” said Tomori, who played with Pulisic at Chelsea. “I’ve seen firsthand how good he is.
“Today he made the right decisions and obviously got an assist. Last game we played in Milan he got a few assists there. He’s really integrating well. We know he can be an important player for us.”
Milan added a second goal before the break as 18-year-old Argentine Luka Romero, also in his initial campaign with Pioli’s squad, controlled and struck a gorgeous half-volley from 20-yards that rose and dipped out of Madrid goalkeeper Andrii Lunin’s reach.
The friendly — Madrid’s first game since May 17, when it fell 5-1 to Manchester City over two legs of the UEFA Champions League semi finals — served as the de facto opener for the 2023 Soccer Champions Tour.
The first of eight scheduled preseason matches between a half dozen of Europe’s most famous clubs was scrapped on Saturday when “a significant part of” FC Barcelona fell ill with the stomach flu, the Spanish club confirmed, leaving Italy’s Juventus without an opponent at Levi’s Stadium.
The next night, Madrid rallied with a quick brace by Federico Valverde near the hour mark and a late game winner from Brazilian winger Vinicius Junior.
Valverde’s goals were two minutes apart.
The first followed a terrific save by Milan goalkeeper Marco Sportiello in the 55th min., when, what should have been a simple stop from outside the box only tied up the 31-year-old Italian.
The Uruguayan midfielder, 25, then leveled the match moments after Tomori turned over the ball with a wayward pass near the Milan box. A hard, bouncing shot inside the far post beat Sportiello.
“Obviously it would have been nice to win,” Tomori said. “It’s always nice to win. But I think we can take a lot of positives from the game.”
So can Madrid’s young star Jude Bellingham, who debuted for Los Blancos and played 64 minutes. The 20-year-old Englishman signed a six-year contract with Madrid in June after a $100 million-plus transfer fee was paid to Borussia Dortmund.
“Bellingham was our best player,” Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said. He moves very well. He’s definitely very distinct among midfielders with the quality for finding open spaces and he’s going to help us a lot.
“He is rare. He is rare with this kind of quality.”
Madrid versus Milan was the first of three L.A.-area exhibitions this week.
Presuming Barcelona are fit, the Spanish champions will commence their preseason against Arsenal at SoFi Stadium on the 26th. The following evening, an all-Italian affair between Milan and Juventus is scheduled for Dignity Health Sports Park.
Milan closes its U.S. tour in Las Vegas on Aug. 1 against Barcelona.
The series wraps on the 2nd when Madrid, which plays four times in the States, faces Juventus in Orlando following an “El Clasico” at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and a showcase with Manchester United in Houston.
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