Pulisic starts, scores first Milan goal of ’26 in win
AC Milan continued their unbeaten run in Serie A with a 3-0 win over Lecce at San Siro on Sunday.
Christian Pulisic fired Ruben Amorim’s side ahead early on before second-half goals from Adrien Rabiot and Diego Moreira wrapped up the win.
Milan now go into the international break fifth in the standings thanks to their third win of the campaign alongside two draws.
Lecce looked to strike in the opening stages as Joel Monteiro and Ivan Ilic both went close, but Milan took the lead in the 14th minute through Pulisic.
A brilliant piece of skill saw the United States striker coolly bring down Strahinja Pavlovic‘s cross-field pass with a single touch before moving the ball onto his left foot and firing into the bottom corner.
The goal was Pulisic’s first for Milan of the calendar year after his red-hot start to the 2025 campaign came to a screeching halt in 2026. The U.S. star was not selected by Mauricio Pochettino for the squad that will play four friendlies in the upcoming international window.
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Pulisic had made two other appearances with Milan this season in all competitions, coming off the bench in both at halftime. His last goal for Milan had been in December 2025 in a league win over Verona and he scored once for the U.S. in a friendly against Senegal before the start of the 2026 World Cup.
“It hasn’t been an easy year,” Pulisic said after the game. “I’m happy about the goal today, but right now all that matters is to keep winning.”
Milan had won only one home game since March and was booed off the field in a 2-0 home loss to Benfica in the Europa League on Wednesday.
Mike Maignan was called into action to make the save from Kialonda Gaspar, and before the break Milan went close in quick succession as Koni De Winter nodded wide before Pavlovic’s effort was stopped by Wladimiro Falcone.
Pervis Estupiñán had a shot blocked after the restart, but Milan doubled their advantage 61 minutes in through Rabiot, who completed a team goal following a quick exchange with Gonçalo Ramos before slotting the ball past Falcone.
Estupinan fired wide as the hosts looked to build on their lead, and just moments later Moreira scored their third goal of the evening.
The substitute won the ball just inside Lecce’s half and raced down the left flank before cutting into the box, where he evaded the visiting defense and hit a low finish underneath Falcone in the 73rd minute.
Information from PA and The Associated Press was used in this recap.
