Christian Pulisic

Christian Pulisic played his best match ever to help put Dortmund in the UCL quarters

Published Mar. 8, 2017 4:47 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

Ryan Rosenblatt

Christian Pulisic was handed the start for the second leg of Borussia Dortmund's Champions League round of 16 tie against Benfica and, while he's played in plenty of big matches for BVB in the last 14 months, this was his biggest yet. Dortmund were behind in the tie and needed a standout performance. The Champions League took on extra weight because of BVB's non-existent chances in the Bundesliga, too. And on top of all that, injuries opened up an opportunity for Pulisic to become a regular starter for the remainder of the season.

And what did Pulisic do with the spotlight brighter than ever? He only played his best match yet.

Pulisic was dynamic from the start and it only took him minutes to pick up an assist as his flicked on header (yes, his day was so good that the 5'8'' American picked up an assist with his head), set up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the opening goal to bring the tie level at 1-1.

With an assist in the bag, Pulisic set about trying to put BVB in front. He did it by running past would-be defenders, combining with his teammates on beautiful passes and making runs that completely unraveled the Benfica defense. He was arguably the most dangerous player on the pitch and nearly helped set up two more goals before halftime.

All of that work went for naught, though. Dortmund were still level at 1-1 on aggregate and without a spot in the quarterfinals so instead of torching defenders or making pretty passes, he decided to put the ball in the back of the net himself.

And with that, Pulisic became the youngest Borussia Dortmund player to ever score in the Champions League. He also became just the seventh American to score in the world's biggest club competition. Just a couple more things to add to an ever-growing list of accomplishments.

But for all the amazing things that Pulisic has done in a Dortmund shirt, like debuting at 17 years old, scoring for club and country before he was even a legal adult and establishing himself as arguably the best American in Europe regardless of age, it pales in comparison to what we saw from him at the Westfalenstadion on Wednesday.

It was there that Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel could have turned to Andre Schurrle or Shinji Kagawa, two experienced internationals with league titles to their names, but instead tabbed an 18-year-old. He did it knowing that their only chance at silverware was in the Champions League, where he went with his best team. And all of this was despite Dortmund needing to over turn a deficit after the first leg, where they didn't score an away goal so Pulisic had to both help BVB find the net and keep Benfica out.

The stakes were sky high, and Pulisic delivered. Had Aubameyang not netted a hat trick, Pulisic may have won Man of the Match. He was that good, and on another day would have taken home the honors. For his goal -- which proved to be the tie-winning goal that put Dortmund in the quarterfinals -- and his passing. For his movement and, yes his header. For his defending and his possession. For, well, everything.

On the biggest stage that Pulisic has ever played on, Pulisic played his best match ever. Not bad for a teenager who can't buy a beer in the U.S. for 30 months.

share

Get more from Christian Pulisic Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Christian Pulisic

Dortmund

UEFA Champions League

Bundesliga