American Christian Pulisic expressed his great satisfaction after scoring his first goal with Milan in 2026, stressing his desire to continue with the team, in light of ongoing negotiations with the club regarding renewing his contract.
Pulisic struggled in terms of scoring during the current year. The ten goals he scored for Milan last season all came before January.
The player finally succeeded in ending his goal drought during Milan's 3-0 victory over Lecce on September 20, in the team's last match before the international break.
Pulisic told reporters, before meeting with the fans in the club store at the San Siro Stadium, on Thursday: “Yes, scoring the goal was definitely a source of great satisfaction for me. "It's been a long time since my last goal for Milan, so it was a really great feeling."
The American national team star was excluded from his country's roster for four friendly matches, after he recently returned from an injury he suffered during the World Cup, which consisted of a bone bruise and microfractures in the leg bones, during the tournament in which the American team exited in the round of 16 against Belgium last July.
As he regained his physical fitness, Pulisic found himself in an unusual position, after he sat on the bench in Milan's first three matches in the Italian League this season.
The 28-year-old player came on as a substitute against Lazio and provided a decisive pass that contributed to Milan's 2-2 draw, before he started in the next match and succeeded in scoring.
“The beginning of the season was a bit strange for me,” Pulisic said. Obviously I always want to play. "It doesn't mean I'm angry, but I always want to play."
He added: “On the other hand, I was just coming back from injury. “I feel good now, and I hope I get a chance to play longer periods as well.”
The British Prime Minister confirmed, on Thursday, that Manchester City is not “above the rules,” following the criticism that targeted Prime Minister Andy Burnham due to his statements regarding the club’s violations of the financial rules of the English Premier League.
A spokesman for Downing Street, 10 Downing Street, said: “As the Prime Minister has made clear, the initial ruling is serious, and there can be no suggestion that anyone is above the rules.”
Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, confirmed in statements to the BBC on Wednesday that he did not want to see the Emirati owners of Manchester City withdraw from the club as a result of the case.
He said: “I would be very worried if we lost them,” referring to the amount of investments made by Abu Dhabi United Group, the controlling owner of the club, in the city of Manchester.
Manchester City, the 10-time English champion, faces an uncertain future after being convicted of committing more than 100 violations, while the club continues to deny committing any violations.
It was found that the Abu Dhabi-backed club arranged deals described as “sham” with the aim of inflating its revenues and reducing its costs by more than 900 million pounds ($1.2 billion) during the period between 2009 and 2018.
The British Prime Minister stressed the need to allow the ongoing independent procedures regarding the case to take their course, while respecting the results that will emerge from them.
The spokesman added: “Wherever wrongdoing is proven, those responsible should face appropriate consequences.”
Roberto Mancini, coach of the Italian national team, confirmed that his team will enter its upcoming match against France, on Friday, in the European Nations League, in search of victory, noting that the lineup will witness fewer changes compared to the last match against Türkiye.
The Italian team has performed at different levels in the tournament so far, after suffering a harsh loss at home to Belgium 0-2, before regaining its balance with a major victory away from its stadium over Turkey, led by coach Vincenzo Montella, with a score of 4-1.
The Italian team faces a difficult test in Paris against the French team, which leads Group A with a comfortable margin over its competitors, after the latter succeeded in winning its two matches away from home with a score of 1-0.
Mancini said in statements to Sky Sport Italia: “It will certainly be a great match against a high-class team that includes exceptional players, but we always want to leave a good impression and we will do our best.”
He added: “When you face strong teams like these, you never play with the intention of not winning. It is normal for us to enter the match looking for victory, and after that anything can happen during the match.
The Italian national team is missing the services of Giacomo Raspadori and Nicolo Zaniolo after they left the camp due to injury, while 9 other players remained to train at the Coverciano Center, namely Samuel Inacio, Alessandro Romano, Honest Ahanor, Nicolo Campigi, Diego Coppola, Daniele Gilardi, Eddie Quadio, Rolando Mandragora, and Massimo Pessina.
Mancini explained that he had not decided his lineup yet, saying: “I have some doubts about the lineup, and we will evaluate things tomorrow morning to see the extent of some players’ recovery after the Bursa match.”
Regarding his attacking options and the possibility of relying on Pio Esposito or Kin Moise, Mancini proposed another option, saying: “Or maybe Scamaka? “What is certain is that we will make fewer changes than what we saw in Bursa.”
