Christian Pulisic finally made his long-awaited first appearance of the season for Milan, and the USMNT star immediately made his presence felt as his side fought back from two goals down against Lazio. The Rossoneri looked completely out of the contest during a one-sided first half, but a dramatic second-half turnaround earned them a 2-2 draw and kept their unbeaten Serie A record intact.
Lazio had looked in complete control before the break, taking a deserved two-goal lead and threatening to turn the match into a comfortable victory. Milan, meanwhile, struggled to create much going forward, leaving Ruben Amorim with plenty to think about as his team headed into the interval.
Both sides showed attacking intent early on, with Samuel Chukwueze seeing a header saved before Tijjani Noslin was denied from close range. Lazio eventually broke the deadlock in the 10th minute, when Matteo Cancellieri arrived at the back post to convert Mattia Zaccagni’s low delivery.
The Rossoneri had opportunities to respond, but the hosts continued to look more dangerous. The Laziali then doubled their advantage bizarrely. Pervis Estupinan inadvertently turned Kenneth Taylor’s cross onto his own crossbar, as Noslin was able to head the loose ball into the net to make it 2-0.
Amorim’s triple substitution changes everything
With Milan in serious trouble, Amorim reacted immediately at halftime, making three substitutions as Diego Moreira, Pulisic and Yunus Musah entered the match. The changes completely transformed Milan, with the Rossoneri suddenly playing with the urgency and attacking threat that had been missing before the break.
After halftime, Milan really started to heat up, and the pattern was impossible to ignore. Amorim’s players had scored all of their Serie A goals this season after halftime, and that trend continued against Lazio.
Pulisic provides the assist as Moreira sparks comeback
This was the moment Pulisic’s return truly announced itself. The American delivered a looped cross into the box, and Moreira attacked it brilliantly, smashing a volley past Mandas to cut Lazio’s lead to 2-1.
Moreira was far from finished. Just moments after his first goal, he collected Adrien Rabiot’s lay-off and fired a superb strike into the bottom corner to complete a sensational quickfire brace and bring Milan level at 2-2.
In the end, the visitors from Milan had to settle for a second consecutive draw, but the result extended their unbeaten start to the Serie A campaign. Lazio lost their perfect record but still moved to the top of the table with 10 points from four matches.
For Pulisic, however, the biggest takeaway was personal. After missing Milan’s opening matches, the American returned from the bench and needed only 45 minutes to register his first assist of the campaign, while his energetic display immediately reignited the debate over whether he should return to the starting XI next week.
