Christian Pulisic scored his first Champions League goal in Dortmund's win over Benfica. - © © gettyimages / Baron / Bongarts
Christian Pulisic scored his first Champions League goal in Dortmund's win over Benfica. - © © gettyimages / Baron / Bongarts

Dortmund's Pulisic admits Aubameyang tips brought first Champions League goal

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Borussia Dortmund's Christian Pulisic has revealed goalscoring tips from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang helped him score a stylish first UEFA Champions League goal as BVB cantered into the quarter-finals.

After teeing up Aubameyang's early opener against SL Benfica on Wednesday, the USMNT star struck the crucial second goal just before the hour mark as Dortmund overturned their 1-0 first-leg deficit, eventually triumphing 4-0 on the night to progress to the last eight.

Speaking to his club's official media, the teenager admitted his finesse-filled finish — deftly lifting the ball over Benfica goalkeeper Ederson — was the fruit of watching and learning from his prolific team-mate.

Watch: Christian Pulisic stepped of the bench to score his third Bundesliga goal of the season on Matchday 23:

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Question: Christian, congratulations on reaching the quarter-finals. Was that the most exciting game of your career at Borussia Dortmund so far?

Christian Pulisic: Absolutely. It was the perfect time to get my first Champions League goal. It's a fantastic feeling to have turned things round after the first game and to go into the quarter-finals with the team.

Question: With a goal and an assist, you made a big contribution to the win. Tell us about your goal — it was a bit like 'Chip it like Auba'…

Pulisic: [laughs] Quite honestly, that way of chipping it is something Auba has given me. As for the goal itself: Lukasz Piszczek gave me a really perfect pass. I only had to make the run at the right time and put it in.

Question: How important was it to score the opening goal early?

Pulisic: Very important! We had said before the game we would score goals, but that an early goal would be very important. That set the tone for the game, even though it still took us a bit of time to really get into our stride. When that happened, we played really well.

Question: You said it yourself: after taking the lead, you still needed something. What did the coach say at half-time?

Pulisic: He thought that we simply had to keep playing as we had been doing and above all stay confident. We didn't want to settle for 1-0, but rather go forward, battle and try to score the next goal.

Question: Is there a team you want to face in the quarter-final?

Pulisic: I'll be very excited about whomever we meet and I'm ready for the challenge. But I don't have a preferred opponent.

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