Wonderteen Christian Pulisic willed Borussia Dortmund to a 3-1 victory over Liverpool in the International Champions Cup on Sunday, in front of 55,447 of his countrymen in Charlotte. The 19-year-old subbed in at halftime with his team down 1-0 and promptly took the game over.
Pulisic’s first contribution came from a run into the box that ended with him drawing a penalty. He chased teammate Mario Götze off the penalty spot and banged the goal home himself:
He scored another goal in the 89th minute, finishing off a quick counterattack by slotting one into the corner:
He came back for more just a few minutes later, shaking a defender in the box and then snapping off a shot that was saved but deflected right into the feet of a teammate:
It’s just a preseason friendly, and Pulisic is good enough now that a strong performance against a weak Liverpool side isn’t something that should really shock anyone. But given all the gloom that has settled over U.S. Soccer over the last year, it was nice to see Pulisic show off in a stadium full of American fans. We’ll take the bright spots wherever we can get them.
Dortmund plays next against Benfica in Pittsburgh, in Pulisic’s home state, on Wednesday.