Pulisic's First Champions League Goal

On This Day in 2017, the Young Winger Set the American Record for the Youngest to Score in the Competition

When Christian Pulisic joined Borussia Dortmund's first team in January 2016, he was just another promising academy graduate. "I'll never forget the day I was in class and looked at my phone quickly, and it was a text from my youth coach saying, 'You're training with the first team tonight,'" Pulisic recalled. "The rest of the school day I wasn't even paying attention, I couldn't think of anything else."

Fourteen months later, the American teenager would write his name into Champions League history.

He would make his way into the first team during the spring of 2016, earning 386 minutes in the Bundesliga while netting two goals. He made his US debut in March and made the roster for the Copa America over the summer, playing 85 minutes off the bench. The American started the following season as a steady presence as a substitute.

The build-up to Dortmund's crucial Round of 16 second leg against Benfica had already showcased Pulisic's growing importance to the team. With Marco Reus injured, the 18-year-old spectacularly seized his opportunity, netting a goal and adding an assist in a 6-2 victory over Bayer Leverkusen the weekend before. But on March 8, Pulisic indeed announced himself to European football.

With Dortmund needing to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit, Pulisic made his mark early, providing the assist for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's fourth-minute opener with a clever header from a corner kick. However, his goal shortly after the hour mark would prove decisive in the tie.

Released into space by Łukasz Piszczek's perfectly weighted pass, Pulisic showed the composure and technique that had become his trademark. With Benfica goalkeeper Ederson rushing out, the American teenager produced a delicate chip that floated into the net, becoming the youngest U.S. player to score in Champions League history at 18 years and 171 days old.

"It was my first-ever Champions League goal and probably the most important one I've scored to date," Pulisic said afterward. "It was an incredible, amazing feeling."

The goal opened the floodgates, with Dortmund winning 4-0 on the night and 4-1 on aggregate. Manager Thomas Tuchel was effusive in his praise: "He's a player who never gives up. The good thing about him is he's open to criticism and always maintains his intensity. He and the team both put in an extraordinary second-half display today."

"He is a world-class player in the making, a real wonderkid," declared Dortmund legend Stéphane Chapuisat that night. Real Madrid icon Raúl González agreed: "I like him a lot. I love his game. He is a player who can break through; he just needs to keep playing."

For a player who had started training with the first team just over a year earlier as a wide-eyed 16-year-old alongside stars like Aubameyang, Reus, and Mats Hummels, Pulisic's rise had been meteoric. His presence as a playmaker and goalscorer continued. After two league matches, Pulisic hopped on a plane back to the United States for World Cup Qualifying and added a goal and two assists in the US's 6-0 win over Honduras.

His goal against Benfica was a personal milestone and a statement that American players could compete and excel at the highest level of European football.