'Captain America' Christian Pulisic stuns in Serie A debut

"It was a fantastic start for sure," Pulisic said after the match, per the Guardian. "I'm really excited to be a part of this team."

Pulisic's strike came after he set up French forward Olivier Giroud for Milan's first goal of the evening. Pulisic and Giroud played together at Chelsea many years ago, and they aren't the only former Chelsea teammates at Milan: Defender Fikayo Tomori and midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek played for the Blues in the pre-Tood Boehly era, too. That connection has been a big part of Pulisic's quick ramp-up in Italy.

"With Olivier, we had some good experiences together," Pulisic explained. "I played with Fikayo, I played with Ruben, and the connection is just there, as you can see tonight again.

"I feel really, really welcome."

Pulisic's wonder goal snatched most of the headlines, but he wasn't the only American who impressed this weekend in Italy.

Striker Tim Weah and midfielder Weston McKennie both played in Juventus's 3-0 victory over Udinese, with Weah in particular receiving praise from the Italian press for his intelligent performance.

In Serie B, Italy's second division, American Gianluca Busio looked stellar for Venezia FC.

It's all great news for the American soccer program that's counting on these players to evolve in time for the World Cup on home soil in 2026. It's great news for Italian soccer, too. Italian teams like Milan have long tried to grow their fan bases in America but have not yet found the same success stateside as their English counterparts. Performances like Pulisic's will undoubtedly turn American heads and encourage more fans to explore what Italian league soccer has to offer.

Pulisic's Milan will take on Torino next weekend at home, while Weah and McKennie's Juventus will face Bologna in Turin.