Christian Pulisic was limited to 28 minutes off the bench during AC Milan’s defeat to Napoli on Tuesday after suffering from flu.
The USMNT captain was not deemed fit enough to start at San Siro and was brought on in the 62nd minute with his team trailing 2–0.
this was the first serie a The match Pulisic has not started this season, having scored five goals and three assists in eight league matches before Tuesday’s defeat.
“Today we don’t have Pulisic who is not in the best condition to start the match,” Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca told Sky Sports Italia before the match.
Asked if Pulisic could be fit enough to come on, Fonseca replied: “Let’s see, in the meantime we’ll put him on the bench. He is better but he was not convinced. Let’s see if we need that.
Napoli beat Milan 2-0 after first-half goals from Romelu Lukaku and Khvicha kvaratskheliyaThe host team scored a goal in the second half alvaro morata Disallowed for marginal offside.
Pulisic’s illness added to Milan’s absentee list Theo Hernandez And Tijani Renders missing through suspension and matteo gabbiaTammy Abraham, Ismail Bennacer, luka jovic And Alessandro Florenzi was injured.
The win moves Napoli seven points ahead of second-placed Inter Milan at the top of Serie A, while Milan are in eighth.
Despite winning just four of their opening nine league matches and trailing Napoli by 11 points, Fonseca insisted there was still a long way to go in the title race.
“Especially seeing how we played, how the team reacted in a difficult moment and how we showed unity even without important players,” Fonseca told DAZN.
“After nine matches no team has won the league and after nine matches no one has lost it, that is why we must move forward on the path of development. “Obviously we need results entering this fight.”
Milan return to action with a trip to Monza on Saturday before facing Real Madrid Champions League On Tuesday.
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(Gabriel Boyes/AFP via Getty Images)
(TagstoTranslate)US men’s national team(T)Associazione Calcio Milan(T)Soccer