There was a strange contrast about Christian Pulisic’s penalty miss in his most recent game for AC Milan.

The American sent Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio the wrong way but his spot-kick soared into the stands at the Allianz Stadium.

On the one hand, it was perfectly in keeping with Milan’s struggles from 12 yards. The Rossoneri have missed five of their last seven penalties in Serie A and seven out of 13 since the beginning of 2024 – the worst conversion rate of any team across Europe’s big five leagues.

This was Pulisic’s second miss from the spot for Milan, his first also coming in Turin last season against Torino. And yet the sight of the American ballooning his effort over the bar was also completely at odds with his form this season.

Pulisic has scored a league-best four goals in six Serie A appearances and added two assists. He also has couple of Coppa Italia goals to his name.

The secret to his stunning form so far? Massimiliano Allegri.

Pulisic has made no secret of his admiration for the six-time Serie A winner, who returned to Milan for a second spell 11 years after leaving San Siro and has turned the team around. They finished eighth last season, lacking in identity under Paulo Fonseca and then Sergio Conceicao, but head into the second international break of the season in third place, two points behind Napoli and Roma.

“He’s very passionate,” USMNT star Pulisic said of Allegri. “That’s a very Italian quality, which I love. You want to play for a guy like that, you want to play for a guy that would crash on a wall to win.

“That is what makes him a very strong coach. He gives us energy. He knows how to bring the best out of this team. It’s very important for a coach. He doesn’t panic.”

Pulisic’s praise for Allegri is diametrically different to his relationship with USA manager Mauricio Pochettino. This one has been a bit frosty.

Back in June Pulisic offered to play in friendlies against Turkey and Switzerland ahead of the Gold Cup but wanted to be rested for the tournament itself.

Pochettino left him out of both matches and warned that players could not dictate which games they were selected for.

That prompted Pulisic to remark he “did not understand” the decision, leading to an angry riposte from Pochettino.

“Players [do] not need to understand or not understand,” the former Tottenham and Chelsea manager said. “Players need to listen and to stick with our plan. They cannot dictate the plan.

“The most important thing is that we explained why we decided not to include [him] in the two friendly games.

“Then if you have some problems, no, that is not my problem to understand. I am the head coach, I am not a mannequin.”

Pulisic returned to the national team last month, setting up one of the goals in the 2-0 win over Japan and playing down suggestions of a rift with his boss.

“We have good conversations,” he said. “Honestly. Probably what you guys experience and what the media sees is not exactly what we experience. Things are good. We spoke. We had a normal camp and everything is good between us, good between the team. There’s probably not as much drama as you guys think there is.”

Pochettino struck a similarly conciliatory note, suggesting it was time to move on and look forward to the World Cup the US will host next year along with Canada and Mexico.

“It’s behind us, all that happened in summer, and now we need to look forward. We all made a mistake in some time because we read the situation in a different way. If we want to move on and do the right things – I want to be intelligent.”

Pulisic has since been selected for the friendlies against Ecuador in Austin on Saturday and against Australia in Commerce City four days later.

He has 32 goals in 80 international appearances since making his debut in 2016 and his tally of 60 goals across the Bundesliga, Premier League and Serie A is the record for an American playing across Europe’s top five leagues.

Pulisic has hit double figures for league goals in both of his seasons in Milan, beating his previous career best of nine in his debut campaign in the Premier League in 2019-20.

Since making his Serie A bow two years ago, he has scored 27 and set up 19, the joint-highest number of goal involvements alongside Lautaro Martinez, according to figures from Opta. 

Milan’s successful signings under the ownership of RedBird and Gerry Cardinale have been few and far between but Pulisic’s arrival from Chelsea for £18m in the summer of 2023 tops the list.

And Captain America, as the Curva Sud has rechristened him, credits his switch to Italy for his development.

“I’ve learned a lot from a tactical perspective, facing different teams. They way we defend,” he said. “Different systems and different ways to play football. I’ve learned a lot of that coming to Italy.

“You adapt a little bit to the lifestyle, I enjoy it a lot. I have an Italian grandmother. I’ve always been a little bit Italian and now I feel even more so.”

That will be music to the ears for Allegri and Pochettino in a season with so much at stake, domestically and internationally.