‘Try to make mistakes’ - Christian Pulisic advised by Thierry Henry on how to replicate USMNT form at AC Milan

The United States international enjoyed a bright start to his time in Italy following a summer transfer from Chelsea, with a flurry of pre-season assists followed by two goals in as many Serie A appearances. Pulisic was, however, benched for Milan’s opening Champions League fixture of 2023-24 against Newcastle.

There is no doubting Pulisic’s creative ability, as he remains a talismanic presence for his country, but there are suggestions that the 25-year-old is too risk-averse in domestic football and needs to shake those shackles in order to become a superstar at San Siro.

World Cup winner Henry – who represented the likes of Juventus, Arsenal, Barcelona and the New York Red Bulls in his playing days – has told the new ‘Kickin’ It’ show from CBS Sports of what Pulisic needs to do in order to thrive: “As a creative player if you don’t try to make mistakes, you cannot succeed. I can see on the national team, [Pulisic] feels like, ‘I can make mistakes.’ When you play on the big club [team], you play the ball one time and it’s a mistake and the next time you touch it is 15 minutes after. People remember every time you touch the ball that you lost it. The international team, he plays with that confidence. We were all creative players, so you have to score. So if you feel like in your head you can’t lose that ball, then you might as well step out of the field and don’t play.”

Pulisic was prevented from showing his true colours at Chelsea as he struggled to nail down a regular starting berth and will be eager to avoid seeing history repeat itself in Italy. Milan will be back in Serie A action on Saturday when playing host to Verona.