Christian Pulisic scored a goal and drew a red card against Slavia Prague as AC Milan seized a first-leg advantage in the Europa League.
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Pulisic scores late goal for MilanDraws red card in first halfRossoneri defeat 10-man Slavia Prague 4-2GettyWHAT HAPPENED?
It was a chaotic affair, which certainly wasn't what Milan were going for. What could have, and probably should have, been a relatively straightforward win turned into a battle that nearly set up a fierce second leg.
After a tense start, the game totally opened up in the 24th minute when Malick Diouf was sent off for a studs-up tackle on Pulisic. Olivier Giroud scored shortly after for Milan, but the lead lasted just two minutes before David Doudera scored a stunner for the guests to level things at 1-1.
Milan, though, appeared to put things to bed before halftime. Tijani Reijnders restored the advantage in the 44th minute before Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, sending Milan to the break with a 3-1 lead – and a man advantage.
Slavia refused to roll over, though. Ivan Schranz's goal in the 65th minute set up a frantic finish, not just for the match but for the two leg-tie. Late on, though, Pulisic was able to add a bit of breathing room, finishing off a fantastic Rafael Leao move to secure the 4-2 win and the advantage heading into next week.
AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Having been knocked out of the Coppa Italia and with Scudetto hopes looking slimmer by the week, the Europa League is Milan's best chance at winning a trophy this season.
They'll be disappointed not to have put the tie to bed on Thursday, particularly with the two-goal and one-man advantage heading into the second half, but Milan will still hold the upper hand when they head to the Czech Republic for the second leg thanks to Pulisic's late goal.
Away goals are not active in this year's edition of European competition, so the two strikes from Slavia Prague on Thursday hold no special advantage beyond the accumulated total from both legs.
Getty ImagesUSMNT IMPACT
Pulisic put in another big-time performance just days after a wild game against Lazio. In that match, he drew two of Lazio's three red cards, and he was back in amongst it on Thursday as he drew yet another red.
Leao should get much of the credit for the goal, having done most of the heavy lifting prior to Pulisic's finish. The American, however, does deserve credit for being in the right place at the right time, even if Leao's initial shot almost certainly would have gone in regardless.
The goal was Pulisic's second in Europe this season, having scored in a 2-1 Champions League win over Newcastle back in December. In total, he now has nine goals in all competitions this season, having been one of the stars of Milan's season so far.
GOAL'S RATINGS
Chrsitian Pulisic (8/10):
Drew the red card and got the goal. Even outside of that, though, he had several good moments against an undermanned opponent as he put in a quality shift for the Rossoneri.
Yunus Musah (N/A):
Did not get off the bench as Stefano Pioli focused all but one of his subs on the attack and defense.
