For roughly half a decade and the vast majority of his breakthrough career, Christian Pulisic can safely be described as a winger. He was a versatile striker who often wore the number 10 shirt, but was not yet ready for the vaunted role of main playmaker. He started wide left or right. Sometimes he starred, but sometimes he struggled. More often than not, he was a peripheral figure — until now, in his breakout season.
In just over three months, Pulisic has contributed 16 goals for club and country; on Tuesday, he scored his tenth goal of the campaign in AC Milan’s 3-2 Champions League win over Slovan Bratislava.
And he did it, for the fourth time this month, from the classic position of no. 10 – from a position that has quietly become his.
He did it in transition on Tuesday. He combined with striker Tammy Abraham and broke through the heart of Slovan’s defense.
He excelled in a similar role and in multiple phases of the game for the US Men’s National Team over the previous two weeks.
In the first leg of the CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final against Jamaica, he strayed from his typical position on the left wing and drifted between Jamaica’s lines in search of space. He found it in the fifth minute and passed Ricardo Pepi for the only goal of the match.
Four days later, in the second round, his new role seemed to crystallize. With Tim Weah on the left and Yunus Musah on the right, Pulisic played centrally in a 4-2-3-1 formation. This time he spotted a gap in the Jamaican defence, sprinted through it and intercepted Weston McKennie’s pass to open the scoring.
He later doubled the USA’s lead with a shot from the top of the box that he dribbled past Jamaican goalkeeper Andre Blake for an own goal.
And during the 68 minutes on the pitch, he looked dangerous, confident and free.
Christian Pulisic’s positional development
Pulisic, of course, is no stranger to central areas. He often played there as a teenager. He was number 10 on the US Youth National Teams. He was a central creator in the early days of previous USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter. “I’ve played a lot in the middle and I feel comfortable there,” he said in 2019.
But at Borussia Dortmund and then Chelsea, he was neither prepared for nor trusted with the responsibility that comes with a central role in Europe’s elite leagues. He wasn’t strong enough on the ball, not smart enough off it, not sharp enough in tight spaces. So he was pushed out wide and tasked with creating from less sought after areas and less dangerous positions.
In the meantime, he still enjoyed himself with the national team some freedom. But as the USMNT roster solidified around him, his role became more solid. For years he almost always played on the left side of a 4-3-3. He would move inside in possession, but his primary position was as a winger.
Then came Mauricio Pochettino; and in November, Pochettino began to struggle.
At the same time in Italy, AC Milan manager Paulo Fonseca moved Pulisic into the middle. In his last four starts in Serie A and the Champions League, he has played between the two wingers as something between an attacking midfielder and a second striker. He doesn’t come deep to get on the ball like some of the old No.10s would; rather, he drifts in search of space and spots opportunities to dive behind the opposition’s defense.
In his biggest game of the season, at the Santiago Bernabeu, against Real Madrid, he created a goal by combining with striker Alvaro Morata and bursting into the half-space.
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For the USMNT, he ran for Pepi, but also provided the young striker with quality chances.
For the club and the country, his movement was diverse. His actions were dynamic and clever.
As a winger, he already played the best football of his career at the beginning of this year. His evolution back to a central position appears to be the next stage in his continued development.