U.S. Abroad: Hype train for Pulisic's Dortmund gains steam
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Sep 21, 2016
Pulisic's performance wasn't quite like his Player of the Week performance in Dortmund's 6-0 win over Darmstadt and he exited at halftime with Dortmund ahead 2-0.
Pulisic once again showed the pace and moves that have bedazzled defenders but didn't connect with his teammates like he did in his first two starts with Dortmund when he scored one goal and added three assists.
Tuesday's game was a lot closer than the 5-1 scoreline indicated as Dortmund's Swiss keeper, Roman Buerki, made a half a dozen excellent saves.
But the game demonstrated that Pulisic, who turned 18 on Sunday, is firmly in the mix of arguably Europe's most exciting young team with 22-year-old Portuguese Raphael Guerreiro and 19-year-old Frenchman Ousmane Dembele, who combined for two goals and two assists, 24-year-old German Mario Goetze and Pulisic forming a four-man midfield in front of German Julian Weigl, who turned 21 two weeks ago.
Guerreiro, Dembele and Goetze (back for his second stint) were summer signings, while Weigl and Pulisic are second-year pros.
On the bench at Dortmund is Turkish-Dane Emre Mor, 19, and German Felix Passlack, 18. Pulisic has been playing in part because 25-year-old German World Cup champion Andre Schuerrle has been injured, but his performances have certainly attracted a lot of attention.
He was named the Bundesliga Player of the Week for his goal and two assists against Darmstadt on Saturday. It already has started speculation about Pulisic's future at the club and whether Dortmund will offer a contract extension to ward off interest from other clubs.
Dortmund sports director Michael Zorc tried to play down the hype, saying no contract discussions had taken place.
Dortmund, which tied a club record for goals in three games, won't have much time to rest. It faces Freiburg on Friday, then hosts Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.
GERMANY, Bundesliga
TUESDAY:
Timmy Chandler (Ein. Frankfurt), 90 minutes, 2-0 at FC Ingolstadt
Alfredo Morales (FC Ingolstadt), sub-13 minutes, 0-2 vs. Ein. Frankfurt
Christian Pulisic (Bor. Dortmund), 45 minutes, 5-1 at Wolfsburg
Bobby Wood (Hamburg), 75 minutes, 0-1 at Freiburg
WEDNESDAY:
Terrence Boyd (RB Leipzig), vs. Bor. Moenchengladbach
John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), at Bayern Munich
Julian Green (Bayern Munich), vs. Hertha Berlin
*Aron Johannsson (Werder Bremen), vs. Mainz
Fabian Johnson (Bor. Moenchengladbach), at RB Leipzig
*Suspended.
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According to kicker.de on Wednesday morning, Brooks is not going to play for Berlin b/c of muscle problems. Boyd is not playing for Leipzig either and is not even on the bench. Fabian Johnson will be a starter for Monchengladbach. Green will be on the bench for Munich.
Really nice finish by Fabian Johnson vs. Leipzig. Gave Monchengladbach a point in an away game right near the end when it looked like they would get zero.