Christian Pulisic makes first competitive start for Borussia Dortmund

United States men's national team fans awoke to surprising and refreshing news on Sunday morning. Christian Pulisic was named to the starting lineup for the first time in his Borussia Dortmund career. This wasn't just a throwaway match to let the 17-year-old spread his wings a bit. This was a Bundesliga match away from home against a top 4 team in the league, Bayer Leverkusen.

Unfortunately Pulisic's full Dortmund debut would only last 45 minutes as Marco Reus would come on for the youngster to begin the second half. Nevertheless, it's a huge moment for Pulisic in his very promising career.

As for his actual on-field performance, that could be described as a bit of a mixed bag. The half as a whole was very sloppily played by both sides with play never settling down much and the tempo being disrupted by poor touches, fouls, and injuries. Pulisic had a few moments where his first touch let him down, but he also had a chance to record his first career assist. A cross came into the box near halftime and the American did well to control it and lay it off to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but the striker's great chance was dragged wide of goal.

Overall it was a forgettable performance, but it's a huge moment for Pulisic and one that he'll remember forever. Now that the pressure of a full debut is off his shoulders and he's firmly implanted in the team's plans for this season, he can relax and continue his rapid career progression with whatever minutes are handed to him.