Christian Pulisic’s Top Five Moments with Borussia Dortmund

Christian Pulisic’s transfer to Chelsea is official, and it feels like the end of an era. While Pulisic might not be Borussia Dortmund’s best player, at least compared to stars like Axel Witsel and Marco Reus, he’s always felt like a special one. Whether it was the maturity that he demonstrated as a young teenager or the talent and poise he brought on the pitch, Christian Pulisic has been a real treat for BVB fans.

It will hurt to see him go, but rather than think about how sad we are that he’s leaving, I think it would be nice to remember some of the positive moments that he’s brought to the club. Without further ado, here are the top five moments, in my opinion, from Christian Pulisic’s tenure at Borussia Dortmund:

#5: Beautiful Chip Pushes Dortmund Past Benfica

In the spring of 2017, Borussia Dortmund faced SL Benfica in the Champions League Round of 16. The first match was held in Lisbon, where Benfica actually beat Dortmund 1-0 to go up on aggregate. With their Champions League hopes on the line, BVB returned to the Westfalenstadion and put a smackdown on Benfica in a 4-0 rout. It was actually Pulisic’s goal, Dortmund’s second of the night, that pushed BVB in front on aggregate and propelled Dortmund to the Quarterfinals:

This goal is a perfect representation of Pulisic’s time with Borussia Dortmund. Even as a teenager, his maturity and “football IQ” have been off the charts. Many young players would just blast that chance into the keeper (who, by the way, was Ederson, Manchester City’s current keeper), but Pulisic displayed the calmness to chip it over the keeper and into the back of the net.

#4: Late Winner Against Hoffenheim

What’s a list of highlights without a little last-minute drama? On the final match day of the Hinrunde in 2017, Borussia Dortmund were level with Hoffenheim going into the 89th minute. With Pulisic waiting to pounce on the right wing, Shinji Kagawa threaded a delightful pass to the Young American, who had the presence of mind to knock the ball over Hoffenheim’s keeper and volley the ball into the net. It was a superb winner that secured three points for BVB, and helped them end the first half of the season in style:

#3: Goal Against Bayern Munich in the 2017 Super-Cup

BVB were pretty toothless Bayern Munich last season, losing all four games across three competitions to the Bavarians. Christian Pulisic provided one of the few bright spots from last year’s “Klassikers”, during the Super-Cup. He pressed hard against Bayern’s back line and managed to pick the ball off of Javi Martinez before dispatching a shot past Sven Ulreich:

While Bayern eventually drew level and defeated BVB on penalties, it was still an amazing moment.

#2: Assist to André Schürrle Against Real Madrid

To me, this was the moment where everyone realized that Christian Pulisic was going to be a star. In 2016, Borussia Dortmund faced Real Madrid in the group stage of the Champions League. With the clock winding down, Christian Pulisic took the ball from the touch line and drove right through the heart of Real Madrid’s defense, past Danilo and Toni Kroos, before picking out a cross to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the penalty area. Augameyang went for an overhead-kick which missed, but luckily the ball fell to André Schürrle, who smashed the ball into the top-corner and leveled the score. BVB held off Real Madrid to finish the match 2-2, and matched their result at the Bernabeu several weeks later to win the group.

#1: Lifting the DFB Cup

The 2016-17 season was a tumultuous one for Borussia Dortmund. While BVB showed a lot of promise with the likes of Ousmane Dembélé and Marc Bartra arriving, the club still got off to a rocky start, and suffered the horror of the bus bombing. The season had a happy ending, though, with Borussia Dortmund winning the DFB-Pokal. Christian Pulisic played an important role in BVB’s cup win, and got to celebrate with the rest of the team at their victory parade:

Your Thoughts

Are there any moments that I missed that you remember? Leave your thoughts below.