Christian Pulisic owns Lazio! USMNT star draws two red cards as AC Milan edge past eight-man Biancocelesti

Milan came out of the gates totally flat, struggling to do much of anything against a relentless Lazio press. It was one of the worst performances of the season so far for the Rossoneri, but that all shifted in the second half due to Lazio's self-inflicted mistakes.

After earning a yellow card for dragging Pulisic down to prevent a chance on goal, Luca Pellegrini earned a second yellow moments later. Thinking the referee should have blown the play dead due to a foul on Taty Castellanos, Pellegrini allowed the ball to roll, only for Pulisic to dash onto it. Forced to bring the American down again, Pellegrini was quickly sent off, prompting chaos from protesting Lazio players, all to no avail.

Lazio were then nearly punished by a Rafael Leao goal, only for the Portuguese star to see his finish called back due to an offside call. Milan, though, eventually found the back of the net as Noah Okafor pounced, banking a shot off Ivan Provedel's hands after two successive saves.

Then, chaos ensued.
Lazio totally lost their head, with both Adam Marusic and Matteo Guendouzi earning red cards after the goal. Marusic's came for dissent, while Guendouzi's decision to rip down Pulisic earned him his marching orders to headline a chaotic ending.

Any dropped points would have been tough for Milan to swallow, which makes Okafor's goal all the more important. The title race may already be gone, but Milan will need to win games like this and beg for an Inter splip up to have any chance of getting back into contention for the Scudetto. With the win, Milan remain 13 points behind Inter, having played one more game. The win does give the Rossoneri some breathing room on fourth-place Bologna, too, as they sit eight points back with a game in hand.

Pulisic remains a key player for Milan but, in recent weeks, he's been slightly overshadowed by a resurgent Leao. There was no overshadowing him on Friday, though, as he was arguably Milan's best player.

In addition to drawing the red cards on Pellegrini and Guendouzi, Pulisic was a menace throughout. His shot was Milan's best chance of the first half while creating three chances on the day. He ran the show on that left-hand side and was unlucky to not be the player that provided the breakthrough for Milan.

Christian Pulisic (8/10):

Fantastic throughout. Drew two red cards and created several big chances. Overall, a big performance to lead the way in a wild match.

Milan's focus will next turn toward the Europa League, with Pulisic and co. set to begin the Round of 16 on Thursday. Having booked their spot in that round with a win over Rennes, Milan will now play host to Slavia Praha on Thursday for the first leg of their Round of 16 tie.