Inside the intellect, acumen of USWNT captain Lindsey Horan

How Man City became America's favourite EPL team

GOAL's World-Class Club: Football's exclusive fraternity

GOAL's World-Class Club: Women's football's true elite

'Our own narrative' - Hayes seeks to reestablish U.S. as elite

Reynolds makes kind gesture to Wrexham star after Deadpool wrap

All eyes on U.S. attack: Swanson shines, Smith status unclear

Ronaldo backed to follow Messi to MLS amid US club takeover plan

Goodman sends warning to Walker in fresh swipe at Man City star

Haaland sends message after being handed key Man City role

‘Spent a billion pounds!’ - Wrexham ‘toe-to-toe’ with giants

REVEALED: Man City slap huge asking price on Alvarez

AC Milan-erica! Pulisic could be joined by USMNT team-mate

Article continues belowArticle continues belowArticle continues below<ul><li>Pulisic assists equalizer </li><li>Milan fall on late goal</li><li>Serie A title hopes in danger already</li></ul><script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script>

Christian Pulisic steps up but Milan throw it away! USMNT star provides top-class assist although late collapse costs 10-man Rossoneri in crushing Atalanta loss

Atalanta seized an initial lead in the 38th minute, with Ademola Lookman giving the hosts an advantage on their way to halftime. They wouldn't make it to the break ahead, though, as Olivier Giroud's goal in first-half stoppage time ensured the two teams would be level at the break.Lookman, though, scored once again to put Atalanta ahead, with AC Milan loanee Charles de Ketalaere twisting the knife on his parent club with the assist on the go-ahead goal. Pulisic, though, ensured that Milan would leave with at least a share of the points, as the American's ball across the box was tapped in by Luka Jovic, whose goal made the score 2-2.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Christian Pulisic's ball finds Luka Jović! Milan are back in this one. 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/idqYKUNWkg">pic.twitter.com/idqYKUNWkg</a>— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSSportsGolazo/status/1733558325453729838?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Just moments before the final whistle, Davide Calabria was handed what seemed to be a meaningless second yellow card, as Milan would need to surivve stoppage time down a man. They weren't able to, as Luis Muriel scored int he 95th minute to deal Milan a major blow while sealing a 3-2 win for the hosts.

WHAT HAPPENED?

With the loss, AC Milan fail to gain crucial ground in the Serie A title race as they sit firmly in third. As things stand, they're seven points behind league-leaders Juventus, <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-us/lists/usmnt-weston-mckennie-napoli-serie-a/blt65d3d59def79ed02" target="_blank">who defeated Napoli on Friday</a>, and six points behind rivals Inter, who face Udinese on Saturday.Fourth-place Roma could gain some ground, as they sit five points behind Milan ahead of their match this weekend, while Napoli will remain five points back heading into the next matchday.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Without Rafael Leao, AC Milan's attack has looked relatively toothless and, in this match, Pulisic struggled for large stretches as the Portuguese star's primary replacement. However, with Milan desperate for someone to make something happen, Pulisic did just that with his ball across the box that led to the equalizing goal.Pulisic started on the left-hand side of Milan's attack rather than the right as he was placed in Leao's usual position. On the right, Samuel Chukwueze earned the start, but struggled as well before being removed early in the second half. In his place, Musah moved from midfield to right wing, with Ismael Bennacer entering to lift the central unit.The goal, though, came from Pulisic over on the left, as the USMNT star's perfectly-placed pass left Jovic with little more than a tap-in.

USMNT IMPACT

Christian Pulisic (8/10):Was all effort and no end product for much of the match but, when his side needed someone to make something happen, Pulisic took charge. It was the type of sequence clubs need from their superstar, as Pulisic put the ball on a platter for Jovic to score a vital goal.Yunus Musah (7/10):A solid day for Musah, who plugged a lot of holes for Milan on the day. Started as a deep-lying midfielder and ended up on the right wing, showing his versatility and ability on the ball.

GOAL'S RATINGS

Milan can now turn their focus toward a crucial Champions League match as they'll visit Newcastle on Wednesday needing a result to stay in the competition. Pulisic and co. will need a win and some help from Borussia Dortmund against PSG to have a chance at second place, while a win would, at worst, see them qualify for the Europa League as third-place finisher. Anything less, though, and Milan will be out of Europe entirely.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

Christian Pulisic steps up but Milan throw it away! USMNT star provides top-class assist although late collapse costs 10-man Rossoneri in crushing Atalanta loss | Goal.com US

Christian Pulisic provided what looked like a crucial second half assist, but AC Milan threw it all away by conceding a late winner at Atalanta.