Christian Pulisic scored the opening goal for Borussia Dortmund against Bayern Munich in the German Super Cup.
Borussia Dortmund are taking on Bayern Munich in the German Super Cup Saturday. Dortmund are participating thanks to winning the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) last season. Bayern earned their spot by winning the Bundesliga title. The Super Cup is the first official competitive match of the German season.
USMNT star Christian Pulisic received the start for BVB. He had a breakout season, for both club and country, last year. The 18-year-old has become an integral part to both Dortmund and the United States.
Twelve minutes into today’s match he forced a turnover and did this:
Cool as you like! Pulisic steals the ball from Javi Martinez and puts Dortmund in the lead. #Supercup @cpulisic_10 https://t.co/L7YCxf1qS8
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 5, 2017
That’s the soccer equivalent of a pick-six, folks. Bayern defender Javi Martinez gets the ball caught in his feet. That tiny opening was all Pulisic needed. He swoops in, pokes the ball free and find himself all alone with the keeper. Pulisic, displaying the calm and confidence of a seasoned striker, easily slots the ball home.
It’s a dream start to the season for the Hershey, Pennsylvania, native. He has had mountains of hype heaped on his shoulders over the past few seasons. Time and time again he has proven that not only does it not bother him, but that he is more than capable of living up to the giant expectations.
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Pulisic is poised for a giant year for Dortmund and the Yanks. He has become a starting XI regular for his club, and a must-start for Bruce Arena and the USMNT. Big clubs have already expressed interest in signing Pulisic. It is hard to imagine, within the next few seasons, that he doesn’t end up on a Liverpool or Bayern Munich-sized club.
It’s hard to avoid hyperbole when discussing the attacking midfielder, but it seems within the realm of the reasonable to say that the USA finally have their first world-class player.