USMNT star Christian Pulisic scores off the bench in AC Milan’s Coppa Italia win over Lecce

Pulisic was initially named to the bench for Tuesday's Coppa Italia clash, having netted a brace over the weekend in a Serie A clash win over Udinese. Even without the U.S. men's national team star in the XI, Milan didn't miss a beat, though.

Thanks to a 19th-minute red card for Lecce's Jeremie Siebert, Milan played most of the match with an advantage, and they made immediate use of it thanks to Santi Gimenez's 20th-minute goal.  They doubled their lead in the 51st minute on a goal from Christopher Nkunku before Pulisic made it three in the 74th minute to help Milan advance to the competition's last 16.

Pulisic is on an incredible run of form to start the season. After beginning the season with a Coppa Italia goal, Pulisic netted, coincidentally, against Lecce in his second Serie A game to get his first league goal. With his two goals from Saturday, he has an early claim on Serie A's Golden Boot. He sits on five goals overall, chasing his career-high mark of 17 across all competitions last season.

Pulisic's track record in cup competitions in remarkable, as he has 14 goals in European competitions and another six in domestic cup tournaments. He has won the DFB-Pokal with Borussia Dortmund,  the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea, and the Supercoppa Italiana with AC Milan.

Pulisic and Milan face their first real test of the season this weekend as they face Serie A's only perfect team through the first four weeks, Napoli. Gli Azzurri currently lead the league with 19 points, as Milan sit third on nine points.