Pioli Clarifies His Preference For Pulisic Over Samuel Chukwueze

Stefano Pioli clarifies why he prefers Christian Pulisic over Samuel Chukwueze.
Pioli prioritizes his current system, which emphasizes an extra midfielder.
Pulisic’s impressive performances and personal-best stats justify his frequent starting role.

Eko Hot Blog reports that AC Milan manager, Stefano Pioli has clarified the reason behind Samuel Chukwueze not being selected over Christian Pulisic in the starting lineup for most of the season.

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Pioli stated that despite calls for more game time for Chukwueze at Pulisic’s expense, Pulisic has become indispensable and impossible to drop from the starting lineup.

During the weekend, Pulisic started once again in the match against Juventus and was substituted by Chukwueze with seven minutes remaining, but neither player made a significant impact in the goalless draw.

Pioli has explained why he will not be changing his plans, telling DAZN that he will keep faith in his current system.

AC Milan manager, Stefano Pioli

“I liked Pulisic instead. Chukwueze is also fine, but at the moment I won’t give up an extra midfielder to play with four attacking players, and therefore Chukwuze is the one sacrificed the most at the moment.”

Pulisic has achieved personal-best stats in his debut season at San Siro, scoring 13 goals across all competitions.

The American international has started 40 out of 46 games this season, receiving praise for his performances.

Juventus vs AC Milan, the match ended in a goalless draw

Meanwhile, Samuel Chukwueze has started in only 13 of his 48 appearances, compared to Pulisic’s 40 starts, with players having moved to Milan in the summer of 2023.

In Serie A, Chukwueze has contributed one goal and two assists in 22 appearances.

Additionally, he scored twice in four UEFA Champions League matches before Milan were eliminated in the group stages.