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AC Milan striker Christian Pulisic had an incredible impact during the 2-1 win in the Serie A against Napoli at San Siro on Sunday. The USMNT star provided the key assist to the opening goal scored by Alexis Saelemaekers before scoring the second goal of the first half against the 2024-25 Serie A champions coached by Antonio Conte. AC Milan had a strong start to the match, in what can be considered as one of the key Serie A games of the season, won by the Rossoneri. Pulisic, who scored his sixth goal of the season so far, has cemented himself as one of the crucial players of the team coached by Massimiliano Allegri. 

Here's his fine goal: 

This season, Pulisic is playing as a striker in the 3-5-2 deployed by the former Juventus manager, who made his comeback at AC Milan after coaching the Rossoneri from 2010 to 2014. Pulisic played alongside Rafael Leao in the opening match of the season in the Coppa Italia playoff against Bari on Aug. 16, but since an injury to the Portuguese player, he started alongside the other striker on the roster, Santiago Gimenez, as it happened against Napoli. 

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It's a key season for the American star ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the United States with his national team, and this new tactical role is helping the American striker to boost his performances and show his full range of attacking qualities. Under Allegri, he enjoys the freedom to move into space on the left side of the attack, with the coach restoring him to his natural position in a way no other Milan manager did before. The first half of the game against Napoli showed that Allegri is perfectly dealing with Pulisic and his position on the pitch, and it's paying off.

After the opening five Serie A games of the season, AC Milan and Napoli are now sitting at the top of the standings with 12 points, alongside with Gian Piero Gasperini's AS Roma, while Juventus are now only one point behind and Inter only three points behind the Serie A leaders.