What a day for Americans abroad, all capped off by a well-taken Christian Pulisic goal vs Leeds United on Saturday.
After Gio Reyna scored for Borussia Dortmund and Weston McKennie found the back of the net for Juventus, we said Christian Pulisic would score later in the day, even though he didn’t start for Chelsea. Lo and behold, a Hakim Ziyech injury saw Pulisic play 60 minutes and the American obliged with a goal in second-half stoppage time to help Chelsea see off Leeds 3-1 on Saturday and cap a brilliant day for Americans abroad.
Reyna started things off with a thunderbolt of an equalizer against Eintracht Frankfurt in a 1-1 draw for BVB in the Bundesliga. It was a great move to create space and then an even better strike to follow Pulisic as the second youngest American to score his second Bundesliga goal.
What a strike by Gio Reyna
He becomes the second youngest American to score two Bundesliga goals after Christian Pulisic. pic.twitter.com/FyDGXe433O— ESPN (@espn) December 5, 2020
Then it was McKennie’s turn down in Italy. With Juventus trailing, the Texan kickstarted a comeback with a strong headed goal as the Old Lady won the Derby della Mole 2-1. McKennie became the third American to score in Serie A after USMNT legends Alexi Lalas and Michael Bradley.
American Weston McKennie ties it up for Juventus with his first goal for the club! pic.twitter.com/qN3luBTpwl
— ESPN (@espn) December 5, 2020
Finally, Pulisic capped the day with a late strike against Leeds.
Like Reyna and McKennie before him, Pulisic’s team trailed early; Patrick Bamford struck in the fourth minute to put Chelsea on the back foot.
Olivier Giroud, who can’t stop scoring right now, equalized in the 27th minute, but during the buildup to that goal Ziyech managed to pick up a knock (potentially a hamstring pull). Pulisic replaced the Moroccan in the 30th minute.
Kurt Zouma’s towering header off a corner kick gave Chelsea the lead in the 61st minute and Pulisic provided an insurance goal in stoppage time, his run picked out well by Timo Werner, who still had plenty of gas left in the tank after 93 minutes.
Christian Pulisic Goal vs Leeds United
PULISIC IS BACK #MyPLMorning pic.twitter.com/xYqvt9dFB6
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) December 5, 2020
The goal was Pulisic’s 10th in the Premier League, making him the fourth American to reach that mark, following in the footsteps of Clint Dempsey, Brian McBride and Roy Wegerle.
Not a bad day for Americans abroad, though Sergiño Dest could do nothing about Barcelona losing 2-1 to Cádiz.
