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Christian Pulisic records assist in Champions League debut

He may or may not be as good as you think he is depending on your expectations, but the kid is undeniably smooth.

Borussia Dortmund v Manchester City - 2016 International Championship Cup China Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

Today, Christian Pulisic became Borussia Dortmund’s youngest ever starter in the Champions League, going the full 90 minutes in Dortmund’s 6-0 thrashing of Legia Warsaw. Pulisic decided he might as well make a day of it, seeing as he broke another record just by stepping on the pitch.

Pulisic notched the assist after the game was well in hand, but the quality of the cross, a left-footed curler stretching past the defense to a waiting Gonzalo Castro at the back post, can’t be ignored. Even though this was his only pass that lead to a goal, it wasn’t even his best one of the match, as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scuffed a glorious chance given to him by the American.

Now, I know many are waiting for this caveat: no, Legia Warsaw are not a great team. The Polish champs didn’t have many answers for the waves of Dortmund attacks coming at them from every angle. But making your Champions League debut away from home at the age of 17 is nothing to sniff at, and even though Dortmund might have been leagues ahead of their opposition, Pulisic’s numbers stand out amongst his own team, and across Europe as well.

So keep hedging your bets all you want. I’m pretty comfortable agreeing with the last word of that tweet.