Former USMNT captain Landon Donovan believes that Christian Pulisic is the ‘heartbeat’ of the AC Milan attack after the winger notched his 10th Serie A assist of the season on Friday.
USMNT international Christian Pulisic moved to the top of the Serie A assist table last Friday after notching his 10th of the campaign, as his AC Milan side breezed past Udinese with a 4-0 victory at Stadio Friuli.
It was the winger’s second assist in as many games, having provided the key pass for Tammy Abraham’s goal against Fiorentina in the game prior, where I Rossoneri fought from two goals down to draw 2-2.
Pulisic’s record for the season now stands at an impressive 15 goals and 11 assists in 42 appearances across all competitions for his club, while he has also registered two goals and two assists for the US national team this term.
Milan, meanwhile, are down in a disappointing ninth place in the table, but despite their downfalls, this season will likely be remembered as one of Pulisic’s best on a personal level.
Off the back of his most recent performance, United States all-time top goalscorer Landon Donovan was full of praise for the 26-year-old, claiming that the Hershey-born forward is the ‘heartbeat’ of his team’s offense.
Landon Donovan: Pulisic The ‘Heartbeat’ Of Milan’s Offense
Speaking on the Unfiltered Soccer podcast, which Donovan hosts alongside Tim Howard, the former USMNT captain said: “[Pulisic] is the heartbeat of [AC Milan] offensively. He’s not always on the scoresheet – he often has been – but everything goes through him, and he’s just had an awesome season.”
Howard added: “Ten assists in any league is huge. But to lead Serie A, it’s a big, big deal.”
The ex-Manchester United and Everton stopper continued, stating that Pulisic’s impressive output in Italy isn’t a surprise to him.
“That’s not surprising, because the way that [Pulisic] plays, one, he has vision, right? But in order to execute, you have to have the ability to get yourself in key positions to make the pass.
“I think that’s where, when you look at his profile, his ability to kind of like skate past the defender, dip his shoulder, unbalance the defender, and then get the pass away is incredibly impressive.
“So, yeah, having a fantastic season. Long may that continue.”
Pulisic and I Rossoneri are next in action on Sunday as they host Atalanta in the Italian top-flight before facing off against city rivals Inter in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final tie, which is currently level at 1-1, three days later.
