Calling AC Milan Players ‘Problem Child,’ USMNT Legend Rallies Behind Christian Pulisic After Penalty Drama

Three penalties, one red card, and some goalkeeping brilliance. AC Milan’s defeat to Fiorentina was a game of many poignant moments. With the Rossoneri trailing by a goal, the attention turned to USMNT winger Christian Pulisic, the designated penalty taker, as he stepped to the spot to take the penalty, However, Theo Hernandez decided to take the spot kick and failed to convert. In the second half, Tammy Abraham tried his luck from the spot, but the result was the same: a David De Gea save.

The Abraham penalty incident was all the more telling because we saw Fikayo Tomori taking the ball and giving it to the English forward. Milan coach Paulo Fonseca was livid afterward and made it clear that Pulisic is their penalty taker, which also given his record makes sense. So why did the US player not argue his case on the pitch? Well, former USMNT goalkeeper Tony Meola had his say on the matter.

The panel on the Morning Footy from CBS Sports got into a heated discussion about what Pulisic should have done. While it was argued that he should have put his foot down and asked for the ball, Meola believes he is already doing that by leading the scoring and assists chart for Milan. According to Meola, Pulisic did the right thing by not creating an issue on the pitch.

“That makes a mockery of the game. They’ve already got (Rafa) Leão, they’ve already got Theo Hernández, that are problem child, children, that they need to get rid of at some point,” mentioned Tony Meola on the Morning Footy.

Meola also mentioned how it is not in Pulisic’s nature to fight with his teammates on the pitch. He added, “Moving forward, there might be another player that comes along and will say, ‘No, no, no, remember what the manager said? This is Christian’s, give the ball to him’. But he’s not going to be that guy. It’s like asking me right now to run a 100-yard dash in 10 seconds, it’s not just going to happen. It’s not in his personality, it’s not in his DNA.”

The misery for Milan fans will be compounded by the fact that Pulisic has not missed a penalty in his career. He has converted nine spot kicks for the USMNT and one for Milan earlier in the season in the win over Venezia. Incidentally, that game also saw Tammy Abraham score a penalty.

But against Fiorentina, he came unstuck, as Milan toiled. Pulisic then brought his side level with his fifth goal in the league campaign, the most by any Milan player so far. However, a goal by Albert Gudmundsson in the 73rd minute put Fiorentina ahead and gave them the win. Theo Hernandez’s night went from bad to worse as he was sent off in the stoppage time.

Players like Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez, mentioned by Meola are the AC Milan mainstays, but their conduct at times can leave a lot to be desired. With this defeat, Milan are down to sixth in the table and have 11 points from the first seven games. Understandably, manager Fonseca was left fuming after the game.

Fonseca warns Milan players after penalty debacle in Florence

New manager Paulo Fonseca is already feeling the heat with their struggles in the league and having lost two games out of two in the Champions League. As such a disorganized and out-of-sync dressing room is the last thing he needs. Sharing his thoughts on the penalty drama during the game, Fonseca expressed his surprise at the decision to not have Pulisic take the penalty.

He said, “Our designated penalty taker is Pulisic. I don’t know why the players changed their minds. I have spoken to them and told them that this can’t happen again.” Pulisic had to be substituted late in the game and the manager explained that he “had a flexor problem during the week.” Though Fonseca wasn’t happy with officiating in the game, he didn’t make any excuses for the loss.

“When we miss two penalties and concede a goal like the last one, it becomes difficult to win despite creating a lot,” he added. Milan now find themselves five points behind early pace-setters Napoli as teams head for an international break.

Fonseca and Milan fans hope the team will get back to winning ways when they take on Udinese on October 19 and that there will be no more debate over who is the team’s penalty taker.