Christian Pulisic lifted his first trophy for AC Milan as he again led a comeback that saw his team come from behind to beat rivals Inter 3-2 in the Italian Super Cup final.

The USMNT international scored a wonderful 80th-minute goal to make it 2-2 in the final in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Monday after the Rossoneri trailed Simone Inzaghi’s men by two goals on either side of halftime.

Then, in stoppage time, Pulisic played a great pass that split the defense and allowed Rafael Leao to slot the ball across goal for Tammy Abraham to fire into the net and secure their first silverware since 2022.

It was a suitably dramatic end to a game that Milan could only achieve thanks to another save from Pulisic at the same Al Awal Stadium on Friday. In the semi-final he helped them again to a 2-1 win against Weston McKennie and Tim Weah’s Juventus with another equalizer before compatriot Yunus Musah forced the own goal that gave them victory.

But Pulisic saved his best for Monday’s final against the third-placed Serie A squad, as Milan currently sit in eighth place after sacking Paulo Fonseca and appointing Sergio Conceicao as coach last week.

Things looked bleak for the new boss as Inter were leading in the top-flight final, but French defender Theo Hernandez scored the equalizer 52 minutes before Pulisic’s wonderful effort, putting the game to bed with 10 minutes to go in normal time.

After a clever turn, the 26-year-old former Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund attacker managed to force his left-footed shot past goalkeeper Yann Sommer despite being surrounded by blue and black jerseys.

Then, in the third minute of injury time, he showed his creative genius with the left-foot pass that gave Abraham the winning goal. The American cut in down the right flank, went past defender Carlos Augusto, and then, seeing Leao’s run into the box, played a precise pass that separated Inters’ marking duo Alessandro Bastonu and Kristjan Asllani, allowing Leao to score , simply turning the ball over from close range so that Abraham could convert it.

For new coach Conceicao, this meant scoring victories against Juventus and Inter in his first two games as coach.

And for the Rossoneri, the trophy could jump-start a season that has faltered, but they are still in the Champions League and in position to fight again via the league for qualification for this tournament next season, although the Scudetto appears to be above them given their deficit, with leaders Napoli 17 points clear.

But in many ways this final will be remembered for Pulisic’s breakthrough role. He has now played 22 games in all competitions for Milan this season, scoring nine goals and providing six assists, becoming a real performer.

He has earned 76 caps for the USMNT, scoring two goals and two assists in three games under new head coach Mauricio Pochettino.

(Photo Agency/Getty Images)