What were you doing when you were 17? If you’re Christian Pulisic then you’re making your first team debut for one of the biggest clubs in Europe. Pulisic came on in the 68th minute during Dortmund’s 2:0 win against Ingolstadt today.
Congrats! American Christian Pulisic makes his Bundesliga debut for Borussia Dortmund. Watch him now on FS2! https://t.co/W9DsIfvXis
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) January 30, 2016
Dortmund struggled to break down a resolute Ingolstadt side for most of the match. The score was still level when Pulisic came on. While Thomas Tuchel didn’t have a lot of attacking options on the bench, bringing a 17-year-old on the pitch in a tied game, while trying to get back into a title race, shows a lot of confidence in the youngster.
While Pulisic didn’t directly lead to either Dortmund goal, there was plenty to like with his debut. He frequently made his way into strong attacking position and made a solid cross that was grabbed by the Ingolstadt keeper. Pulisic also showed a good bit of pace. He was effective on the left, and despite not being involved in any goals he provided an attacking spark for Tuchel.
Pulisic becomes one of the youngest players in Dortmund’s history. One of the last 17-year-olds to make their debut at the Signal Iduna Park was Mario Götze, who has gone on to be one of Germany’s brightest stars. Pulisic is a long way from that, but getting into a talented Dortmund team at his age is very promising for himself, and the USMNT.
Dortmund went on to win with two goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The first goal was controversial, as Aubameyang appeared to be offside, but it was given and not long after the Bundesliga’s leading goalscorer added another. Dortmund are now only five points back of league leaders, Bayern, but Bayern still have to play tomorrow.
