Last night, some kid named Christian Pulisic decided what better time to light things up than back at home in the U.S. of A. against the Champions League runners-up/the team that has a growing interest in him.
Going into the second half in International Champions Cup play, Borussia Dortmund were trailing Liverpool 1-0 thanks to a Virgil van Dijk header: Enter BVB star and USMNT messiah Pulisic. In the 65 minute, the 19-year-old was brought down in the area by Ragnar Klavan and gave his team the equalizer with a well-taken penalty.
Christian Pulisic’s penalty win and goal. pic.twitter.com/X9FR0zKsCs
— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) July 22, 2018
With the clock ticking down, Marcel Schmelzer got on his bike on the left wing and delivered a low, cut-back cross to an incoming Pulisic. He took one quick touch and buried the ball in the corner past a helpless Loris Karius.
Wow. Here's Pulisic's second. pic.twitter.com/yhmZNf8ulY
— USMNT (@USMNTvideos) July 22, 2018
The American nearly capped off his night with a hat trick in stoppage time. The Liverpool keeper parried away the midfielder’s powerful effort, however, in doing so, pushed it right into the path of Jacob Brunn Larsen, who smashed it home.
In the spirit of positivity and encouragement, I will not go into Karius' performance, which was, to put it mildly, hard to watch. The man is clearly at rock bottom after the Champions League final blunders and the signing of Alisson. One has to hope Liverpool will loan him out somewhere so he can get his head right with some consistent playing time.
Larsen scores Dortmund 3rd. Karius should do better with that. #BVB #ICC2018 #LFCBVB pic.twitter.com/trGqsKwkA8
— Jonah Takalua (@Destaquito2) July 22, 2018
Back to the wonderkid! Pulisic’s performance was an MVP one, but the ICC prevented the Man of the Match award from going to its rightful owner because, according to U.S. alcohol laws, he’s just a kid! Last night’s Man of the Match award was sponsored by Dutch brewing company Heineken and it seems as if it was deemed not quite, well, apropro to give it to a guy who can’t legally order a beer in the U.S.
Alcohol and accolades aside, the display in Charlotte adds another layer to the increasingly tantalizing love affair between Pulisic and Liverpool. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp tried to sign him 12 months ago and in recent days, he's been outspoken about his admiration of the young star. With the way things are heating up, Pulisic could find himself on a plane to Anfield in the not so distant future.
Right now, however, he’ll be wanting to focus on the Bundesliga and Champions League campaign ahead. While most 19-year-old Americans use their summer to freak out about organic chemistry or trying to make some money, Pulisic is using his to show why he deserves a look from some of the top clubs in Europe. He continues to increase his market value and make many still-bruised USMNT fans burst with pride.
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