USMNT abroad: Pulisic goal headlines Champions League round up

Christian Pulisic’s goal against Krasnodar put the icing on the cake in Chelsea’s 4-0 victory in the Champions League.

Christian Pulisic’s first goal of the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League campaign was the top highlight from the USMNT players in action. Matchday two of the Champions League saw a total of three USMNT players involved in the slate of fixtures. Along with Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Giovanni Reyna also made appearances for their respective clubs.

Pulisic provides an instant impact

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard brought Pulisic into the game in the 71st minute as the USMNT midfielder replaced Callum Hudson-Odoi. Just a few minutes after entering the match and Pulisic was already at work helping earn his club a penalty kick. His shot hit the arm of a Krasnodar defender and the referee pointed to the spot. Timo Werner stepped up to take the penalty kick and scored his first Champions League goal for Chelsea.

After Werner’s 76th minute goal, Pulisic was involved in Hakim ZIyech’s 79th-minute goal. Pulisic played a pass to Werner who fed the ball to Ziyech for the third goal of the match. The night would get better for Pulisic as he went on to score a goal of his own in the 90th minute to wrap up the 4-0 road win for Chelsea.

This was one of the best performances Pulisic has had so far this season for Chelsea. He was a very effective substitute for the Blues last season and once again displays he can get the job done when Lampard calls upon him. There should be more performances like this one to come for Pulisic in the remaining Champions League group stage matches.

Reyna and McKennie in action

Borussia Dortmund was able to record their first victory of the Champions League group stage against Zenit St. Petersburg. Reyna started for Dortmund and played 83 minutes in the winning effort. He completed 83% of his passes and registered one shot. The German club will be in third place entering matchday three.

McKennie returned to action for Juventus and entered as a substitute in the 2-0 loss to Barcelona. The USMNT midfielder entered in the 75th minute to replace Dejan Kulusevski. McKennie finished with one shot and two tackles in the defeat. Juventus will enter matchday three in second place in their group.

Sergino Dest was on the bench for Barcelona but he did not enter the match as a substitute. Elsewhere, Ethan Horvath did not play for Club Brugge as their top choice goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has returned to the team. RB Leipzig’s Tyler Adams was on the bench against Manchester United and did not enter the match.