After failing to lead AC Milan to a victory over Newcastle United in the Champions League, USMNT standout Christian Pulisic vowed to prove his value.
The forward replaced Samuel Chukwueze early in the second half on Tuesday after coming off the bench to open the game. But he didn’t have a very productive day, as the Rossoneri’s Group F opening at San Siro ended in a tie.
In spite of the setback, Pulisic praised his team’s effort and said they would come back even stronger next time.
We had several good chances to win, but ultimately came up short. You have to be able to take setbacks in football, but the beauty of a packed schedule is that you always get another chance to prove yourself.Pulisic has adjusted well to his new club, starting every Serie A game for Milan before being replaced by Chukwueze for the Champions League opening. After Chukwueze squandered his opportunity, he should return to the starting lineup this weekend against Verona with two goals in four Serie A games under his belt.
On Saturday, Milan will play host to Verona before heading to Cagliari on September 27. Their next Champions League match comes on the road to Borussia Dortmund on October 4 after hosting Lazio on September 30.
Arsenal set for hidden Champions League boost ahead of facing star Erik ten Hag binned
Peter Crouch thinks Arsenal will fare better in the Premier League this year now that they have qualified for the Champions League.
This is because, unlike last season, when Europa League teams posed a different kind of threat, they will have to constantly sustain better levels from one competition to the next. “Being in the Champions League can work in Arsenal’s favor because there’s a real buzz around it,” Crouch, who has played for both Liverpool and Tottenham in Europe, said.Having played in such an environment, I can attest that it improves one’s performance on the field. Going somewhere and doing something that comes extremely easily to you, like playing a lower-tier team on the road in the Europa League, is very different than going somewhere and doing something that comes extremely difficult to you. It’s good for mental health, and I believe it might assist them in the league.If Arsenal do not win the Premier League this year, it will be the 20th year in a row that they have not done so. It hasn’t been quite 30 years like Liverpool had to wait, but Crouch is confident that his team will be the first to lift the Champions League trophy.
Crouch continued, “Liverpool were quite a way off the Premier League but they won the Champions League a couple of times in that process, and it was the same with Chelsea.”
With its elimination format and high stakes, the Champions League consistently produces thrilling matchups. There is representation from every major English team. Newcastle has a tough group, but with Arsenal and Manchester United, they have a chance to make history.
To give their Champions League comeback the boost they need, Arsenal must contain PSV Eindhoven wonderkid Noa Lang on Wednesday.
The youngster’s play this season is almost as red hot as his head was with Ajax coach Erik ten Hag, who eventually sacked him and is now the manager of Manchester United. It all came to a head when Lang insulted his employer during a cup match, and Ten Hag lost it on the sidelines, delivering an expletive-filled diatribe at the player that was captured by TV cameras and microphones on the pitch.
Ten Hag instructed former Gunners star and technical director Marc Overmars to sell him to Club Brugge the next day. Lang’s stint in Belgium wasn’t any less explosive, either; he got in trouble for performing an anti-Semitic song directed against Anderlecht, his team’s main opponent. He left Club Brugge for PSV in the summer when political pressure forced the club to penalize him.
The former Feyenoord youth player quickly found himself back in the headlines after making disparaging remarks about his former team.