Christian Pulisic starred for USMNT as they booked their place in the CONCACAF Nations League final on Monday after a heated clash with Mexico. The Chelsea winger bagged a brace with a goal either side of the break to put interim coach BJ Callaghan's side into a comfortable lead.
The game escalated into violence late on, though. Before Ricardo Pepi made it 3-0 there was time for a red card per team with Weston McKennie being sent off as he defended new USA star Folarin Balogun. The Arsenal ace was kicked by Cesar Montes in an aggressive fashion and sparked a mass brawl.
In a dramatic game, Montes lashed out at Balogun after he had dribbled away from the Mexico player, cleaning out his ankle in the process. McKennie jumped to the defence of his new teammate, being faced with masses of green jerseys in the process.
The Juventus man then annoyed the Mexico cohort even more by kissing the badge on his now ripped shirt, inciting yet more anger and another brawl followed. Pulisic, who had by this stage put the game to bed, has now come out with a message to his teammates on Instagram.
"Love it boys, bring on Sunday," he wrote. America will now play Canada in the final after they got the better of Panama in the other semi-final.
The 24-year-old now has 25 goals for his country and continues to shine when in the crisp white shirt of his nation. He still looks set for a move away from Chelsea this summer, though, with a handful of top teams from across Europe interested in him.
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AC Milan, Napoli and Juventus are all keen on adding the attacker to their squad and could be boosted by his tiny £20 million ($24m) price tag. With just over two years left on his contract, Pulisic isn't expected to sign a new deal at the club.
There is also a belief that Pulisic would be willing to take a sizeable pay cut in order to secure a transfer away. He came close to leaving last summer as Newcastle and Manchester United made their desire to recruit him clear but no such options still remain.
For now, his mind will be on retaining the Nations League but he will have to do so without the help of Serginio Dest after the Barcelona right-back was also sent off late into the game. He pushed Gerardo Arteaga five minutes from time and was then at the centre of yet another big coming together.
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