Milan match-winner Pulisic was 'dead in bed' before brace against Torino

Christian Pulisic said he was "dead in bed" just two days before sending AC Milan back to the Serie A summit with his second-half double against Torino. 

Pulisic proved to be Milan's hero from the bench, scoring twice in the space of 10 minutes after coming on just after the hour to seal a 3-2 win on Monday. 

Nikola Vlasic and Duvan Zapata had put Torino two goals in front with just 24 minutes on the clock before Adrien Rabiot's stunner reduced the deficit soon after. 

But having replaced Davide Bartesaghi in the 66th minute, Pulisic marked his introduction by restoring parity just 35 seconds after coming on.

The United States international then steered home the winner from Samuele Ricci's cross 13 minutes from time. 

Pulisic is only the third Milan player to score multiple goals in a Serie A match as a substitute over the last 10 seasons, after Ante Rebic (vs Udinese on January 19, 2020) and Santiago Gimenez (vs Bologna last May 9).

"Two days ago I was dead in bed, but I felt much better today, and I am very happy I came here and was able to help the team," Pulisic told Sky Sport Italia.

"I didn't know yesterday if I could play, but this morning I felt much better. I'm happier with the win than the goals, honestly."

Milan now sit on 31 points after the first 14 Serie A games in 2025-26. It is their best tally after 14 matches since 2021-22, a campaign in which they last won the Scudetto. 

When the Rossoneri have exceeded the 30-point mark after 14 games of a top-flight season, they have never finished lower than third in the three-points-per-win era. 

And key to their success has been Pulisic. Despite only making nine league appearances this season, no player has scored more goals for Milan than his seven. 

"It has been a rather strange season," Pulisic added. "I do want to get more match fitness.

"We have to take it one game at a time, and then we’ll see where we are at the end of the season."

But another pivotal moment in the contest came from Rabiot, who sent a sensational 30-yard strike beyond Franco Israel in the 24th minute to halve the deficit. 

At 29 metres, it was Milan's furthest goal in terms of distance in Serie A since Keisuke Honda found the back of the net from 30 metres in February 2016 against Genoa.

It helped kickstart the Rossoneri's revival, which saw them win a top-flight match starting from a two-goal deficit for the first time since last March away to Lecce. 

"We started badly, but already midway through the first half we did better and told ourselves we had to do better in the second half, be more determined," Rabiot said. 

"We also immediately saw the change of tempo, and Christian's introduction did us good. 

"These are the games that can change a season, prove we're here in terms of determination and focus."

The Opta supercomputer hands Milan a 23.4% chance of winning the title this season, with Napoli (26.6%) and rivals Inter (43.1%) given a higher probability. 

Rabiot believes that his team's mentality will stand them in good stead for a potential Scudetto charge, but he acknowledged there are improvements that need to be made. 

"These are the games that can change a season, prove we're here in terms of determination and focus," the Frenchman added.

"We've got to improve our attitude at the start, because we can’t always come back from 2-0 down to win 3-2.

"We needed something, every now, and then you've got to try something that can change the game. 

"There were errors, but the important thing was the mentality and spirit we showed to turn it around, including those who came off the bench. 

"We'll see where we end up, but with this mentality, we can go far."