Pulisic benched? Ex-USMNT star Friedel weighs in on Milan star’s slump

Christian Pulisic scored in the Derby della Madonnina.

AC Milan beat Inter 3-1 on Saturday.

Pulisic opened the scoring in that win.

He has two goals in his last three appearances.

He just signed a new contract with Milan after months of uncertainty.

And yet, on Thursday night, he is not starting.

Ruben Amorim left Pulisic on the bench for Milan’s UEFA Europa League Matchday 4 clash against Ferencvaros at San Siro.

The match is on November 5, 2026.

Milan need points.

They sit 24th in the 36-team league-phase table.

That is the final playoff position.

Only the top eight advance directly to the round of 16.

Teams placed ninth through 24th enter a knockout playoff round.

Milan have three points from three matches.

They lost to Benfica.

They lost to Bournemouth.

They beat Salzburg 4-0.

Ferencvaros arrive with a perfect record.

The Hungarian club have won all three of their Europa League matches.

They beat Celtic, Viktoria Plzen and Torreense.

They have nine points.

They are in contention for direct qualification to the last 16.

Ferencvaros have also gone 20 consecutive matches without defeat across all competitions.

This is the first competitive meeting between Milan and Ferencvaros.

Milan have faced Hungarian opposition before, but never Ferencvaros.

Amorim chose a 3-4-2-1 formation.

Goncalo Ramos leads the attack.

Omari Hutchinson and Alphadjo Cisse start behind him.

Luka Modric is also on the bench.

Mike Maignan is suspended.

Lorenzo Torriani starts in goal.

Fikayo Tomori, Matteo Gabbia, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Samuel Chukwueze and Alexis Saelemaekers are all injured.

Pulisic is available.

He is fit.

He is named among the substitutes.

Amorim can bring him on if Milan need more attacking quality.

But the decision to bench him raises questions.

Pulisic has faced criticism this season.

Former USMNT goalkeeper Brad Friedel spoke about it.

“A lot of criticism for the first time,” Friedel told Goal.com.

Pulisic was the poster boy for U.S. soccer at the 2026 World Cup.

The tournament was held in North America.

The USMNT crashed out in the last 16 against Belgium.

Expectations were high.

Pulisic was called “Captain America.”

He did not always wear the armband, but he was the face of the team.

After the World Cup, questions followed him back to Milan.

He had an extension offer on the table for months.

He did not sign it.

Transfer talk swirled.

He kept his options open.

The 2025-26 season was difficult.

The 2026-27 season started slowly.

Amorim benched him at times.

Then Pulisic scored in the derby.

Then he signed the contract.

Now he is benched again.

Friedel said the contract decision was the right one.

“I would think so,” Friedel said.

“I don’t know Christian, believe it or not. When I was coaching with the U19 national team, it was his birth year. I did the 98s when I first took over, but he was already up with Jurgen Klinsman at senior level.”

Pulisic joined Milan in 2023.

He left Chelsea after seven years.

In his second season at Milan, he scored 17 goals.

That was a personal best.

Milan fans have embraced him.

He said continuity mattered more than another move.

But Amorim is still rotating.

Milan have five Europa League matches left.

They need to climb the table.

Amorim needs consistency.

Pulisic will likely play against Ferencvaros.

He may come off the bench.

He may start the next match.

For now, the question is why he is not starting this one.

The official lineup shows Amorim chose a different approach.

Pulisic is a substitute.

Modric is a substitute.

Milan have experienced players to change the game.

But they start on the bench.