Christian Pulisic scores his first goal of the season, but AC Milan remains winless in Serie A after a 2-1 defeat at Parma on Saturday. This result leaves new coach Paulo Fonseca still searching for his first victory at the helm of the club.
Pulisic found the net in the 66th minute, tapping in a simple finish to equalize after Dennis Man’s early strike put Parma ahead just two minutes into the match. At 25 years old, Pulisic makes history as the first American player to score in ten different seasons across the top five European leagues.
However, Parma quickly regained the lead when substitute Matteo Cancellieri scored in the 77th minute, providing a memorable birthday gift for Parma’s coach, Fabio Pecchia.
Fonseca, who took over from Stefano Pioli during the offseason, faces a challenging task ahead. AC Milan had to rely on late goals to secure a 2-2 draw against Torino in their opening match.
Inter Milan also struggled in their opening match, drawing 2-2, and were set to host Lecce later that Saturday.
Alvaro Morata, who scored on his debut, was sidelined due to injury, and Milan started the match poorly, conceding a goal within the first 90 seconds.
Man, who had scored in Parma’s previous match against Fiorentina, found himself unmarked in the box, finishing Emanuele Valeri’s cross with ease.
Milan struggled to create chances until the cooling break in the first half. After the break, Parma’s goalkeeper, Zion Suzuki, had to make a crucial save, deflecting Strahinja Pavlovic’s header onto the crossbar.
Shortly after, Pavlovic nearly scored again, heading a corner just past the near post.
The 23-year-old Pavlovic, who recently joined from Salzburg, made a significant impact at the other end as well, executing a remarkable sliding tackle to deny Man a clear scoring opportunity.
Pavlovic continued to shine defensively, making another key tackle against Valentin Mihaila at the start of the second half, shortly after Tijjani Reijnders struck the crossbar for Milan.
Ange-Yoan Bonny thought he had doubled Parma’s lead on the hour mark, but his goal was disallowed for offside, paving the way for Milan’s equalizer soon after.
Rafael Leao made a brilliant run down the left, combining with Theo Hernandez before setting up Pulisic, who simply tapped the ball into an empty net from six yards out.
However, Parma struck back decisively with a swift counterattack. Pontus Almqvist surged from deep within his own half, entering the box and passing to Cancellieri, who calmly slotted the ball into the bottom left corner, sealing the victory for Parma.
