On the opening night of the revamped UEFA Champions League, American stars Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie both found themselves on the scoresheet for AC Milan and Juventus, respectively.
However, the results and experiences of each game differed wildly.
For Juventus, it was a case of holding your breath to see what happens. The club has not played in the Champions League since 2022, and coming up against a formidable opponent in PSV Eindhoven would surely be a big test for them. However, the Iron Lady passed the test with flying colors by winning 3-1, with American Weston McKennie notching the game’s second goal. Their attack was spearheaded by Turkish teenager Kenan Yildiz, whose sweet finish opened the scoring for Juventus and McKennie scored 6 minutes later. The inclusion of McKennie as a starter was somewhat of a surprise move from manager Thiago Motta, as the American has failed to start any games for Juventus this season, and his role has been mostly relegated to coming off the bench.
However, it wasn’t all smiles for compatriot Christian Pulisic (at least beyond the first quarter of the first half).
The AC Milan forward got off to a blistering start on Tuesday by scoring within the first 3 minutes of their Champions League match against Liverpool at the San Siro. Pulisic picked up the ball near the halfway line and made a penetrating dribble into the Liverpool defense, eventually finding himself at an acute angle vs. Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker. Pulisic hit a powerful shot that beat Alisson at his far post, and it seemed the Rossoneri were flying high. 20 minutes later, Liverpool center-back Ibrahima Konaté equalized with a header, and his fellow center-back partner Virgil van Dijk scored a header himself before halftime. Dominik Szoboszlai wrapped the game up in the 67th minute to make it 3-1 and assured AC Milan suffered defeat in their opening game of the Champions League season.
The controversy from the game didn’t end there for Pulisic. Following the match, CBS took Pulisic to do a post-game interview with a panel of former players Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry, and Micah Richards. While the panel went around to ask questions, Richards asked Henry (who was looking down at his notes) if he had any questions for the player. Henry looked up and responded “No” before looking back down at his notes. The France legend was criticized by many on social media following the moment, with them calling it “awkward,” and “disrespectful.”
Other Americans also played in the Champions League. Ricardo Pepi, Malik Tillman, and Richie Ledezma all turned out for PSV in their loss against McKennie and Juventus.
This is the inaugural season of the revamped format of the UEFA Champions League, which remained untouched for the last two decades until now. The new format brings one giant league table of 36 teams, where each team plays eight games (four at home and four away). The top eight teams automatically qualify for the knockout rounds, with the remaining eight spots to be decided by the teams that finished 9th-24th, who will play qualifying matches to decide their fate. The change in format was said to bring increased “competitiveness” to the Champions League, creating more exciting matchups throughout the tournament and, of course, increased revenue.
With the increase of American players being involved at the highest level of competitive soccer, it can only bode well for the future of the United States Men’s National Team. Newly hired national team coach, Mauricio Pochettino, would have surely kept a close eye on these games and the performances of the players as he draws up his own plans on how to set up the U.S. National Team.
