Christian Pulisic said in an interview earlier this season that he does not like the nickname “Captain America” that has been bestowed upon him. He might just have to get used to it, because he keeps blazing new trails for American footballers.
Tonight he opened the scoring, in Chelsea’s Champions League semifinal tie at Real Madrid, and in doing so became the all-time leading scorer in Champions League history, among American players. In addition to his five goals scored in the UCL, he has also registered five assists in the competition, which is also the most all-time of any American.
https://twitter.com/LDNFootbalI/status/1387123212560052232
You can see the footage above, of the 14′ scoring strike. He also became the first American to score in a UCL semifinal. 15 minutes later, Karim Benzema would equalize, and that’s rather disappointing, considering the way the Blues dominated the first half.
Chelsea easily deserves to be up by a goal or two or three, but hey, that’s how the game goes sometimes. We’re currently 1-1 at halftime, and if that scoreline holds, well it’s a de facto to win, of sorts for Chelsea as they’ll have picked up a crucial away goal. Having endured a very rough second season at Chelsea, Pulisic, 22, is starting to have a bit of a purple patch again.
He’s got four goals this month/since the return to action after the international break. No doubt the Eden Hazard comparisons will once again ramp up. Speaking of which, the Belgian came off the bench today to feature against his former club for the first time tonight, and it was a big moment.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.