Football
ESPN staff 7y

Christian Pulisic says he grades goal a 'B' after leading Dortmund to victory

Christian Pulisic joked that he would only grade his goal a "B" after scoring Borussia Dortmund's first of the Bundesliga season on Saturday.

Midway through the first half, the U.S. international received the ball just outside the box, took one step to his right before firing a shot across goal and in off the left post.

Goals from Marc Bartra and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang followed as Dortmund beat Wolfsburg 3-0, but even though Pulisic scored and also set up his side's third goal, he said Bartra's curling strike from a tight angle was the highlight of the day.

"I would probably give my goal a B grade," the 18-year-old said after the game. "Marc's goal was a little bit better, an A for his effort."

He added later: "I think I just got the ball at my feet and I kind of just saw an opening, so I just went for it and aimed for the back post and luckily it went in."

Pulisic, who had already scored in the German Super Cup against Bayern Munich, said he was pleased to start off the league season with a big away victory.

"We wanted to come out here today with a lot of confidence and show what we're all about and we were able to do that and get a nice win," he said. "That was our goal, we wanted to go out and wanted to be really aggressive right from the first minute and I think we showed that."

The game marked a first Bundesliga win for Dortmund coach Peter Bosz, and Pulisic said the team is having no problems adjusting to the new coach.

"Of course, and it's just the beginning of the season, so we want to continue to get better and better," he said. "I think it was a really good showing today, and yeah, I think we're understanding him very well."

Bosz said he was "really satisfied" with a "great result" and singled out the young American for praise.

"Christian Pulisic is still very young, but did really well today -- and not just because of his goal," the Dutch coach said. "He was all over the pitch, created lots of dangerous situations and played really well."

The manager was also pleased with the performance of Mario Gotze, who played an hour after missing several months because of a metabolic disorder.

"The same is true of Mario Gotze, a similarly brilliant player. Mario hasn't played for some time, and so we need to be patient," Bosz said. "It is important that he remains healthy and gets game time. But you could see his quality again today."

Even Wolfsbug captain Mario Gomez said he was pleased to see the former World Cup winner back in action.

"I was really happy for Mario Gotze," he said. "Especially prior to the game, as I saw that he would start. That made me really very happy.

"I have already said that I'll never forget the day when Mario first joined the national side. I thought back then: 'Whoa, what a player we've got here.' I hope that he'll be able to play as freely as he did then again."

^ Back to Top ^