Christian Pulisic trialling new position for AC Milan as Stefano Pioli seeks to get the best out of 'very intelligent' USMNT star

The former Chelsea forward was introduced in the 70th minute during Milan's 4-1 win over Cagliari in the Coppa Italia. Despite playing for just 20 minutes, Pulisic made a goal contribution after he set up Rafael Leao for the winger's late stoppage-time strike, which helped him end a 100-plus day goal drought for the Lombardi-based outfit.

Pioli stuck to his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation throughout the match and after he brought on Pulisic, he tried the USMNT forward through the middle with Leao and Samuel Chukwueze on either flanks. When the manager was asked if he was trying out a new setup, he replied: "It was there from the beginning, we vary a lot. I would really like Pulisic as a Trequartista [advanced playmaker], he's a very intelligent player. Now, with Chukwueze's injury, it narrows down one more solution, but we'll see."

Pulisic has been in fine form since moving to Milan from Chelsea last summer and now boasts of having 12 goal contributions in 23 matches across all competitions for the Rossoneri. He was decisive against Sassuolo as he scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over the Neroverdi in Milan's final game of 2023. And he could not have asked for a better start to 2024, as he completed 13 out of 14 attempted passes against Cagliari, in his brief cameo on Tuesday evening in the cup competition.

Pioli might continue with his experiments when Milan gets back to action over the weekend against Empoli, as the Blues are going through a lean patch of form down in 19th in the Serie A standings. If Milan play to their potential and Pulisic keeps up his recent level, it should be a routine win for them on Saturday afternoon at StadioComunaleCarlo Castellani.