Christian Pulisic returns to club duty with AC Milan in a fragile state of mind after a difficult March window with the U.S. national team, and his place in the starting lineup for Monday's match at Napoli is very much in doubt.
The 27-year-old endured another goalless international window, missing several clear-cut chances against both Belgium and Portugal. His body language throughout suggested a player low on confidence, and his frustration boiled over against Portugal when a late challenge and a petulant kick earned him a yellow card. The scoreless streak now stretches to eight consecutive games for the national team, while he also hasn't scored for Milan since late December—a drought spanning 12 club matches.
Reports out of Italy suggest Pulisic could be left on the bench at the Maradona Stadium, with Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri reportedly weighing his options given Pulisic's psychological state upon returning from international duty. The situation is compounded by ongoing injury concerns around winger Rafael Leão, leaving Allegri potentially without his preferred attacking partnership.
Pulisic did score and assist in a previous meeting with Napoli this season, which could factor into Allegri's thinking. But right now, the U.S. star's confidence is clearly his biggest obstacle, and with the World Cup just two months away, the timing couldn't be worse.
Momentum is firmly on Monaco's side heading into Sunday's Mediterranean Derby against Marseille at the Stade Louis-II, with kickoff set for 8:45p local time.
The hosts enter riding a six-game Ligue 1 winning streak, which is the longest active run across Europe's top five leagues, while Marseille arrive having dropped points in each of their last two matches, most recently a 2-1 defeat to Lille.
Much of the spotlight falls on two Americans with World Cup aspirations. Folarin Balogun has been in sensational form for Monaco, scoring in each of his last five league matches. The striker, who featured for the U.S. in the March window, could become just the fourth Monaco player in the 21st century to score in six consecutive top-flight games. His nine Ligue 1 goals this season make him a pivotal figure in Pochettino's World Cup plans.
On the other side, Tim Weah should start at right back for Marseille, who face an uphill battle without suspended winger Mason Greenwood, which is a massive blow given how dependent the club has been on the Englishman's output this season.
Historically, Monaco has been prolific against Marseille, and with Balogun in this kind of form, the hosts will be confident of extending their winning run while further tightening the race for Champions League qualification.
Americans Conclude the March International Window With Another Defeat
The United States closed out its March international window with another dispiriting result, falling 2-0 to Portugal in a friendly at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Tuesday—the country's eighth straight loss to European opposition.
Fresh off a 5-2 dismantling by Belgium just three days earlier, Mauricio Pochettino shuffled his lineup with six changes and made the bold call to deploy Christian Pulisic as a central striker, hoping the positional shift might jolt his star forward out of a prolonged scoring drought. It didn't work. Pulisic was subbed off at halftime, extending his scoreless streak to eight consecutive national team appearances. He hasn't found the back of the net for club side AC Milan since late December, either.
Francisco Trincão broke the deadlock before halftime, capitalizing after a midfield turnover that Bruno Fernandes turned into an assist. João Félix, who came on as a substitute, put the game away in the second half with a polished volley from outside the box off a set piece, a goal that underscored how much space the U.S. defense repeatedly surrendered.
It's worth noting that Portugal was missing both Cristiano Ronaldo, sidelined with injury, and Bernardo Silva, who wasn't included in Roberto Martinez's squad for the window. Yet the visitors still had more than enough quality to control large stretches of the match.
Goalkeeper Matthew Freese, starting ahead of Matt Turner, made several sharp saves to prevent the scoreline from getting worse. The result leaves plenty of uncertainty heading into the summer. Pochettino still has two more warm-up matches—against Senegal on May 31 and Germany on June 6—before the World Cup kicks off. The Americans open Group D play on June 12 against Paraguay in Inglewood, with Australia and Türkiye to follow.
On This Day in 2002, Claudio Reyna Gave Sunderland the Breathing Room They Desperately Needed
When Claudio Reyna slipped through the door at Sunderland in December 2001, he did so in a manner entirely fitting for a man who would spend the rest of the season defying expectation. He signed his five-year deal minutes before the midday deadline on December 7, having played for Rangers in a UEFA Cup tie at Paris Saint-Germain the night before. He touched down on Wearside jet-lagged and anonymous, and was starting in the Premier League eight days later.
The early returns were promising. A debut at Southampton was modest, a 20-yard shot saved, a 2–0 defeat, but the following week, in his first home match against Everton, Reyna scored the only goal of the game. The Stadium of Light had a new favorite.
Then winter turned complicated. The goals dried up, the wins dried up, and by the time April arrived, Sunderland had taken just three victories from their previous 14 league matches following that win over Everton. What had looked like a comfortable mid-table season on Boxing Day, when the club sat ninth, had curdled into a survival fight. Manager Peter Reid called the visit of Leicester City on April 1 a must-win match, and he meant it literally. Three points separated Sunderland from the drop zone.
Leicester arrived at the Stadium of Light in worse shape than their hosts, with the Foxes at the bottom of the table, almost certainly doomed, their relegation a question of when rather than if, but they had won their previous match against Blackburn and carried the dangerous looseness of a side with nothing left to lose. Reid was without Patrick Mboma, still nursing the knock he had taken against Arsenal, and Kevin Phillips, Sunderland's top scorer, had only just been passed fit after his own injury scare. Niall Quinn was on hand to deputize upfront if needed.
The tension in the ground was palpable from the first whistle, the kind that settles over a stadium when fans understand the stakes but dare not say them aloud. Reyna, as he had been since December, was everywhere from the start. Three minutes in, he made the anxiety irrelevant, briefly. Finding space 20 yards from goal, he caught a loose ball on his left foot and drove it into the top corner. No buildup, no warning. A goal from nothing.
What followed was maddening. Leicester equalized in the ninth minute through a sequence Sunderland supporters would argue about for weeks. Referee Neale Barry awarded a free kick against Darren Williams for a foul on Paul Dickov, overruling his own assistant, despite replays suggesting Dickov had led with his elbow. Stefan Oakes swung the ball into the box, Matt Elliott powered a header that Thomas Sorensen could only deflect onto the post, and Dickov bundled the rebound over the line. The goal was legitimate by the letter of the law. It didn't feel that way in the stands.
Sunderland's confidence, always fragile that season, wobbled visibly. Reid left his dugout to make his feelings known to his players. The crowd grew restless. But Reyna didn't wobble. In the 17th minute, Muzzy Izzet dragged down Phillips on the edge of the area, and the American stepped up to the free kick from 25 yards. Ian Walker set his wall. Reyna bent the ball up and over it into the top corner. Walker didn't move in the right direction until it was already in the net.
Reyna nearly had a hat-trick before halftime. A 42nd-minute volley from outside the area beat Walker cleanly and rattled the outside of the post. The ground groaned. The second half was survival football of the most nerve-shredding kind. Walker made a brilliant stop to deny Phillips in the 65th minute. Sorensen came up enormous at the other end, twice denying Dickov as Leicester pushed desperately for the equalizer. When the final whistle came, the relief was audible.
Reid's assessment afterward was characteristically unvarnished: "Claudio was outstanding — a calming influence. Apart from his two goals, it was a good job he was on the pitch. I don't think we are safe yet. But that has given us a little breathing space." Leicester manager Dave Bassett, gracious in defeat, put things plainly: "This was a big relief for Sunderland, and I think they will have enough points to stay up."
He was right, barely. The six points of breathing space Reid mentioned would prove to be almost exactly the margin that kept Sunderland up. The final weeks of the season brought defeats at Leeds and Liverpool, a thrashing at West Ham, and a scrappy draw at Charlton. A home draw with Derby on the last day of the season confirmed survival in 17th place. They finished as the Premier League's lowest scorers, with just 29 goals all season.
Reyna ended the campaign having led the United States to a remarkable run at the World Cup that summer—a quarterfinal appearance, a famous win over Portugal, a narrow loss to Germany. He had proven in the toughest weeks of a difficult season that an American could carry a team on his back, on the biggest stages, with the math brutally simple and the margin for error gone.
The two goals against Leicester weren't glamorous. They were necessary. Sometimes that's more important.
