Christian Pulisic scores, but Yunus Musah's red card overshadows as USMNT duo, AC Milan fall to Dinamo Zagreb in Champions League

AC Milan fell to Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League opening round finale, with the Croatian side stunning the Italian giants.

U.S. international Christian Pulisic scored the lone effort for the Rossoneri, while USMNT compatriot Yunus Musah saw red in the first half after being awarded two yellow cards for separate offenses within a 10-minute span.

Musah's second, a rather light challenge on the edge of the box, saw him grab the shirt of a Zagreb player near his own 18-yard-box, with the Croatian side's player falling to the ground. As a result, Musah saw red, much to the protest of both him and his team. Goalkeeper Mike Maignan was issued a yellow card in protest, too.

As a result of their defeat, Milan fall outside the top-eight of the UCL standings, and will be a part of the knockout round playoffs instead of advancing straight to the Round of 16. They finish the opening round in 13th place, as a seeded side in the knockout playoffs.

In the 39th minute, Musah was removed from the match, but it took nearly three minutes for him to depart the pitch as he attempted to speak with the referee about the call.

The Rossoneri were in pole-position to secure a top-eight spot heading into the match, but the shock defeat means they will now have to play a two-legged affair to make it to the Round of 16.

Zagreb, meanwhile, still suffered elimination from the competition despite defeating Milan on Wednesday. They finished ties on 11 points with four other teams - including Pep Guardiola's Manchester City - but the Croatian side fell just shor due to criteria points and ultimately, goal-differential.

Earlier in the UCL campaign, they suffered a 9-2 battering at the hands of german side Bayern Munich, which ultimately doomed them in the end.

Pulisic became the first USMNT player to ever score four goals in a single UCL campaign with his effort against Zagreb on Wednesday.

The Rossoneri and their two American stars return to the pitch this weekend in Serie A action against rivals Inter Milan on Sunday. Inter, in second, sit 16 points clear of Milan as Pulisic and Co. search for a crucial three points.

Musah will be suspended for Milan's next UCL match, which will come in February. The draw for the knockout round playoffs will commence on Friday.