Christian Pulisic marked his return to the AC Milan starting line-up with two goals and an assist in a 3-0 win at Udinese on Saturday that lifted the visitors to third in the Serie A standings.
Milan moved on to nine points, the same as Napoli who have a match in hand, and one behind early-season leaders Juventus, as they won for a third successive game.
Pulisic had been on the bench for Milan’s last two games but, restored to the starting 11, made a major impact, breaking the deadlock in the 40th minute when Pervis Estupinan’s cross from the left was deflected towards his own goal by Udinese’s Thomas Kristensen.
While goalkeeper Razvan Sava instinctively stopped the ball crossing the line, it rebounded perfectly into Pulisic’s path for an easy put away.
Milan’s lead was doubled inside the first minute of the second half when Pulisic challenged Jesper Karlstrom for the ball in the Udinese penalty area, forcing it to spill into the path of Youssouf Fofana, who cut inside and shot a low effort into the back of the net.
American international Pulisic got his second goal in the 53rd minute to effectively end home hopes, catching out Sava at his near post as he squeezed in a tight shot.
It was Udinese’s first defeat of the season, leaving them on seven points and sixth in the Italian top flight.
Milan have not had as comprehensive a winning margin in Serie A since they beat Udinese 4-0 away in April in the closing months of last season.