Pulisic scores again to help Milan fight back to beat Como 2-1 in Serie A

MILAN (AP) — Christian Pulisic scored again on Saturday to help AC Milan earn another comeback victory in Serie A with a 2-1 home win over Como.

Tijjani Reijnders set up Pulisic’s second-half equalizer before netting the winner himself in the 75th minute.

It was Pulisic’s third goal in two matches, taking the United States international to nine goals in Serie A and 15 in all competitions this campaign — equaling his tally from his first season at Milan.

Milan moved up to seventh, five points below fourth-placed Juventus. Como remained seven points above the relegation zone.

Pulisic’s two goals last weekend helped Milan fight back to win 3-2 at Lecce and end a three-match losing streak.

It again went behind on Saturday, when Lucas Da Cunha drilled into the bottom left corner from the edge of the area in the 33rd minute.

The Milan fans jeered loudly at halftime and it almost got worse for them four minutes after the restart but Da Cunha’s second goal of the night was ruled out for offside.

Instead it was Milan which leveled four minute later. Rafael Leão and Álex Jiménez combined on the left before picking out Reijnders, who delicately dinked the ball over the top for Pulisic to sweep into the far bottom corner from a tight angle.

Reijnders also clipped the top of the crossbar before scoring the winner in the 75th minute, slotting home after being sent through on goal by a backheeled pass by Tammy Abraham.

Como substitute Dele Alli’s return to soccer lasted just nine minutes as he was shown a straight red card late on for a foul on Ruben Loftus-Cheek, shortly after coming off the bench for his first appearance in two years.

Monza captain Armando Izzo scored his first goal in more than two years but it wasn’t enough to secure a win as the last-place team drew 1-1 against fellow struggler Parma.

Izzo netted in the 60th minute but Parma substitute Ange-Yoan Bonny leveled six minutes from time with a solo effort.

Monza remained 10 points from safety while 17th-placed Parma inched three points clear of the relegation zone.

Hellas Verona moved seven points above the drop after a free kick by Ondrej Duda handed it a 1-0 win at Udinese, ending the host’s six-match unbeaten streak.

Empoli was three points below Parma after losing 1-0 at Torino.

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Como's Lucas Da Cunha, left, scores the opening goal against AC Milan's goalkeeper Mike Maignan during the Italian Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Como at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Como's Lucas Da Cunha, second from right, with teammate Edoardo Goldaniga, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Como at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

AC Milan's Tijjani Reijnders scores his side's second goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Como at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

AC Milan's Tijjani Reijnders, second from right, wit teammates celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Como at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

AC Milan's Christian Pulisic, centre, scores his side's opening goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Como at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

AC Milan's Tijjani Reijnders, right, with teammate Christian Pulisic, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Como at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

AC Milan's Christian Pulisic celebrates after scoring during the Italian Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Como at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran fired on targets across the Middle East while American and Israeli airstrikes hit the Islamic Republic early Friday as the war neared the end of its fifth week unabated and the U.N. Security Council prepared to meet over Tehran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz.

Despite claims from the U.S. and Israel that Iran’s military capabilities have been all but destroyed, Tehran has continued to keep the pressure on Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbors. Bahrain and Kuwait both reported early morning barrages from Iran, while Israel warned of incoming missiles.

Activists reported strikes around Tehran and the central city of Isfahan, but it wasn’t immediately clear what was hit.

Iran’s attacks on Gulf region energy infrastructure and its tight grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas transits in peacetime, have sent oil prices skyrocketing and is impacting global economies.

Spot prices of Brent crude, the international standard, were around $109 early Friday, up more than 50% from Feb. 28 when Israel and the U.S. started the war with their attacks on Iran.

Shipping had flowed freely through the strait before the war, but U.S. President Donald Trump has said it’s not now Washington’s responsibility to get the waterway reopened, instead putting the onus on others, saying this week that the countries that depend more on fuel shipped through Hormuz should “build some delayed courage” and go “take it.”

The U.N. Security Council was expected to vote Saturday on a proposal from Bahrain that would authorize defensive action to ensure vessels can safely transit the strait. Bahrain’s initial draft would have allowed countries to “use all necessary means” to secure the strait, but Russia, China and France — who have veto power on the Council — expressed opposition to approving the use of force.

Speaking Thursday in South Korea, French President Emmanuel Macron said the American expectation that the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened by force was unrealistic.

Macron said a military operation “would take an infinite amount of time and would expose anyone passing through the strait to coastal threats from (Iran’s) Revolutionary Guard." He added that reopening of the strait “can only be done in coordination with Iran,” through negotiations that would follow a potential ceasefire.

Talks organized by Britain and involving more than 40 countries focused on political rather than military means to secure the strait. The nations, which didn't include the U.S., urged increased diplomatic pressure on Iran and possible sanctions.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran during the war, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel. More than two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank, while 13 U.S. service members have been killed.

More than 1,300 people have been killed and more than 1 million displaced in Lebanon, where Israel has launched a ground invasion in its fight with the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militant group. Ten Israeli soldiers have also died there.

Rising reported from Bangkok. AP journalists Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

Iraqi women hold a portrait of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, during a protest against U.S. and Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in the Shi'ite district of Kazimiyah in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

A woman checks a destroyed house that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Saksakiyeh village, south Lebanon, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A bridge struck by U.S. airstrikes on Thursday is seen in the town of Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

FILE - This image released by Bahrain's Interior Ministry shows firefighters extinguishing flames after an Iranian projectile struck an industrial area in Ma'ameer, Bahrain, March 9, 2026. (Bahrain Interior Ministry via AP, File)

Israeli security forces and rescue teams inspect a site struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel,Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

A boy who fled with his family following Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon sits inside the van they are using as shelter in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Israeli security forces and rescue teams inspect a site struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel,Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)