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AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic and Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie have both become key players in two of Italy’s biggest teams. On Saturday, Milan will meet for the highly anticipated match between the Rossoneri and the Bianconeri (you can watch the two stars of the United States men’s national team at Biggest+ all season). Although the two US internationals both play important roles, they could not have taken a less similar path at their clubs in recent years.
Pulisic quickly became a central player at AC Milan when he joined from Chelsea in the summer of 2023. McKennie, on the other hand, has been out of the squad for each of the past two summers and looked for a possible exit after the club informed him he was not in their plans. No transfer destinations emerged and now he is now one of the key players under new manager Thiago Motta.
Pulisic impresses a second manager in a row
Pulisic is one of the best players in the entire Serie A and has had an excellent start to the season, scoring seven goals in all competitions and also starting 14 of the 15 matches the Italian giants have played so far. His impact this season has been simply incredible and follows a very impressive first season at the club, where Pulisic scored 15 goals in 50 games played in all competitions. Pulisic has been a model of consistency despite a tumultuous period at the club that led to American owner Gerry Cardinale appointing Paulo Fonseca to replace Stefano Pioli on the sidelines this summer.
Pulisic was one of the club’s best signings in recent years. His impact on the team has been good since joining the Rossoneri, as he has also been able to fit into multiple tactical positions under Pioli, previously and now under Fonseca. In fact, he came on as a backup to Milan star Rafael Leao as a left winger, but the former Rossoneri manager soon understood that he could not play without him and made him the starter on the right wing of the attack in place of Samu Chukwueze, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek playing behind main striker Olivier Giroud.
When the new season started under Fonseca, the Spanish striker Alvaro Morata replaced Giroud in attack, but Pulisic became the one primarily responsible for driving his teammates forward across the pitch, while Leao still struggles with some ups and downs in this first part of the match. the season. The Portuguese winger was widely regarded as the team’s star and the most talented attacker on the pitch, but Pulisic is proving it all wrong game after game. It’s safe to say that most of the best games Fonseca’s side have played this season, such as the 3-1 win at the Santiago Bernabeu against Real Madrid in the Champions League, have a lot to do with the American’s performance winger.
McKennie fights his way back into the fray
On Saturday, Pulisic and AC Milan midfielder Yunus Musah will also face two other USMNT teammates, while Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah will feature for Juventus. McKennie’s importance to Juventus cannot be ignored, but it took him much longer to build his status at the club. The midfielder joined Juventus in the summer of 2020 and had an uneven spell at the club. After his loan spell at Leeds United in 2023, things seemed different for him.
When he returned in the summer, coach Massimiliano Allegri did not really consider him a key player and several rumors suggested that he was on his way out of the club, waiting for the right move. Weeks passed and he started playing more and more in the pre-season tour, convincing Allegri that he could find some space. An injury to Paul Pogba and Nicolo Fagioli’s suspension saw McKennie find the space he needed, making 38 appearances in all competitions, playing as both a central midfielder and a winger.
Allegri left in the summer and was replaced by Thiago Motta, and the club again thought McKennie could leave, this time partly because his contract expired in the summer of 2025. The American was left out of the squad and it seemed impossible to see him in a Juventus jersey again, especially after he refused to join Aston Villa at the end of June. Once again he proved everyone wrong. Motta announced his return to the squad ahead of the opening game of the season against Como and so far he has made twelve appearances and scored two goals between Serie A and the UEFA Champions League, proving he is still an important player could be for the Bianconeri. .
Pulisic and McKennie face each other on Saturday in one of the most exciting matches of the season. Their status with the clubs is similar, as they have shown how important they are in recent weeks. They just did it in different ways.
How to watch and odds
- Date: Saturday November 23 | Time: 12:00 PM ET
- Location: San Siro — Milan, Italy
- Live stream: Biggest+
- Chances: AC Milan +120; Sign +220; Juventus +240