On This Day in 2025, Pulisic Converted His 12th Straight Penalty Kick Before Milan Scored Twice in Stoppage Time in a Wild Comeback
The Olimpico against Club Brugge had been one chapter in Christian Pulisic's remarkable autumn. What followed in January would cement his status as AC Milan's most indispensable player.
Just over two months after that fortuitous corner found the net at San Siro, Pulisic stood in Riyadh for the Supercoppa Italiana final against Inter Milan. When Inter took an early lead, the pressure mounted. But Pulisic responded in the 52nd minute, firing home the equalizer to drag Milan back into contention. Then he threaded a perfectly weighted pass to Rafael Leão, who converted the eventual winner in a dramatic 3-2 comeback victory.
The American had his first trophy in Rossoneri colors. He'd also reached double-digit goals in consecutive seasons across Europe's top five leagues, a feat not accomplished by an American since Clint Dempsey. But the celebrations proved short-lived. The Supercoppa success couldn't mask the underlying issues plaguing Milan's domestic campaign.
Milan arrived at their January 26 home fixture against Parma in a peculiar position—thriving in the Champions League while languishing in Serie A's congested middle. Their midweek victory over Girona had secured a fifth consecutive European win, propelling them into the knockout phase playoffs with 15 points from a possible 15 after their disastrous opening two matches.
Yet domestically, the picture looked considerably bleaker. A lifeless 2-0 defeat to Juventus in their previous league outing had left Milan sitting eighth with fewer than 35 points through 20 matches. Four draws in their last five home league games had them closer to mid-table anonymity than Champions League qualification. Parma, meanwhile, hovered precariously above the relegation zone in 17th place, though they'd already shocked Milan once this season—a 2-1 victory at Stadio Tardini back in August that felt like a distant embarrassment the Rossoneri desperately wanted to avenge.
Parma struck first in the 24th minute when Matteo Cancellieri curled a low shot into the far corner after Theo Hernández slipped at the critical moment. Milan's attack struggled to manufacture clear opportunities until the 38th minute, when Parma goalkeeper Zion Suzuki—the American-born Japan international—shoved Strahinja Pavlović in the back at a corner kick.
Pulisic stepped forward, his penalty record unblemished—11 successful conversions for club and country spanning his entire professional career. Suzuki guessed correctly, diving to his right, but Pulisic's execution was flawless. He drilled the ball low into the corner with enough pace that the goalkeeper's outstretched hand couldn't prevent it from nestling into the net. 12 goals from 12 spot kicks. The perfect record intact. Milan level at 1-1.
The goal marked Pulisic's first Serie A goal since October, ending a domestic drought that stretched across three months even as he'd continued contributing in other competitions. The second half saw both sides create chances without finding the decisive breakthrough. Then, in the 80th minute, disaster struck. Ismaël Bennacer's poor pass out from the back gifted possession to Parma, and Enrico Delprato poked home the rebound after Mike Maignan saved the initial shot. San Siro fell into frustrated silence.
Sérgio Conceição had introduced Samuel Chukwueze and Tammy Abraham in search of fresh attacking impetus, and those changes would prove decisive. Pavlović thought he'd rescued a point two minutes from time, only for the offside flag to deny him. But Milan refused to surrender. In the second minute of stoppage time, Yunus Musah—the other American in Milan's squad—threaded a perfectly weighted through ball that split Parma's defensive line. Tijjani Reijnders beat the offside trap and calmly slipped his shot past Suzuki. 2-2. San Siro erupted.
Incredibly, there was still time for more drama. Three minutes later, Pavlović's header bounced off Chukwueze's thigh directly in front of the goal, and though Suzuki got a hand to it, he couldn't keep the ball from crossing the line. Milan had completed an improbable comeback, turning certain defeat into a stunning victory. The victory moved Milan to sixth place with 34 points, keeping their top-four ambitions alive while demonstrating the resilience Conceição demanded from his players.
Yet Pulisic's perfect penalty record wouldn't survive February. Against Torino on the 22nd, Vanja Milinković-Savić blocked his attempt, ending the unblemished streak in a 2-1 defeat. But Pulisic's response demonstrated his mental fortitude. Two weeks later, against Lecce, he scored twice in another dramatic 3-2 comeback, including winning and converting the match-winning penalty.
On April 27, his goal against Venezia marked his 16th across all competitions, surpassing his previous career-best scoring campaign. When the season concluded, Pulisic finished as Milan's top scorer with 17 goals and 10 assists across all competitions. His nine league assists ranked second in Serie A behind only Romelu Lukaku. For the second consecutive season, he earned selection to the Serie A Team of the Season.
Milan's campaign ended in contradictions—reaching the Champions League knockout phase while finishing eighth in Serie A, claiming the Supercoppa but suffering defeat in the Coppa Italia final. But Pulisic had answered every question asked of him. The penalty against Parma—number 12 in his perfect streak—represented just one moment in a season where he'd evolved from star player to genuine leader. The American who'd struggled to find his place at Chelsea had become the American who carried AC Milan through their most challenging moments, one decisive contribution at a time.
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