Pulisic goal helps AC Milan win the Champions League

FOOTBALL

US striker Christian Pulisic scored straight from a corner – and admitted it was an accident – as AC Milan beat Brugge 3-1 to end their wait for a Champions League win.

Pulisic surprised everyone when he delivered a kick from the left corner flag to give Milan a 1-0 lead in the 34th minute.

“It was a bit of luck today, but it’s still worth a goal. I’m very happy,” Pulisic said with a laugh in Italian. “I didn’t try that, but it was a good cross, that’s what I say, and after a nice, nice goal, but I didn’t try that.”

• Vinicius Junior scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid turned boos into celebrations with a 5-2 win over Borussia Dortmund.

Madrid were 2-0 down at half-time in the second leg of last year's final.

• Paris Saint-Germain settled for a 1-1 draw against Dutch side PSV Eindhoven.

• Aston Villa became the first team with three wins in the new Champions League format, beating Bologna 2-0.

• Needing an own goal to beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0, Arsenal lost left-back Riccardo Calafiori to an apparent knee injury.

BASKETBALL

NBA: Paul George's debut with the Philadelphia 76ers is on hold and Joel Embiid will miss time again due to injury.

Embiid and George will play in Wednesday's season opener against Milwaukee and could miss more games.

George, who left the Los Angeles Clippers and signed a four-year, $212 million contract as a free agent this summer, suffered a bone bruise when he hyperextended his left knee during a preseason game.

Embiid did not play in the preseason due to a left knee injury.

The Bucks also have to do without one of their key players. All-Star forward Khris Middleton is recovering from offseason surgeries on both ankles.

ICE HOCKEY

NHL: Paul Maurice and the Florida Panthers have agreed to a contract extension, the team announced.

Maurice was in the final year of a three-year contract and it was certain the Panthers wanted to keep him after he led the team to the Stanley Cup Final in each of his first two seasons and won the Cup in June.

COLLEGES

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: USC star JuJu Watkins and UConn's Paige Bueckers headline the Associated Press preseason All-America team, which includes three sophomores for the first time – a clear sign of the young talent in a sport that is enjoying a record year of fan interest has behind him.

Watkins and Bueckers were unanimously selected by the 30-member national media panel, which selects the AP Top 25 each week. They were joined by Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame, Madison Booker of Texas and Kiki Iriafen of USC. Watkins, Hidalgo and Booker are all second-year players.

TENNIS

SWISS INSIDE: Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune kept their small hopes of reaching the ATP finals alive with victories in Basel, Switzerland.

Tsitsipas, ranked 11th, beat Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), while 14th-ranked Rune beat Nicolas Jarry 6-4, 7-6 (3). . The eight best-placed players qualify for the final next month in Turin.

Also on Tuesday, sixth-seeded Ben Shelton defeated Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-4.

CAR RACING

TRUCK SERIES: Former child actor and “Malcolm in the Middle” star Frankie Muniz announced that he will compete in the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 33 F-150 for Reaume Brothers Racing.