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 further 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 to 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.
Milan now have six points and sit 14th after four of their eight games of the new Champions League league phase, 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 Paulo Fonseca’s side sitting seventh ahead of a trip to Cagliari on Saturday.
“Our coach just said enjoy tonight, we gotta 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 added.
“So were 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 contributed to this report.
