Chelsea: Frank Lampard is dangling the carrot for Christian Pulisic

Christian Pulisic came off the bench against Aston Villa and changed the game. Chelsea’s Frank Lampard has shown he knows what he is doing with the winger.

The season began with uproar about Christian Pulisic. He had played virtually nonstop for over a year, but it was still an affront to all things American that Frank Lampard chose not to play him constantly upon his arrival. The criticism even seeped into blaming Mason Mount because of course it did.

Then Pulisic was given a chance and he showed how good he was. He became a main stay in the starting XI all the way up until he became injured prior to the break. But of course, that did not matter as the old criticism returned when he was on the bench against Aston Villa. Coming on late and effectively winning the game only justified that take.

But at this point, it is clear that Lampard knows what he is doing with Pulisic. He trusts the winger, but beyond that, he has shown he knows which carrot to dangle in front of him to get the best out of him. And after all, is Pulisic becoming his best not the point?

Pulisic’s time at Dortmund showed a good player but an incomplete one. Because of that and injuries, he had to constantly fight his way back into their starting XI. The brief times when there was no fight is when Pulisic could waltz right in, but he suffered as a result.

Lampard has taken notice of this but it is also very much Lampard’s entire philosophy. There is no “English bias” and that is simply a foolish notion. Lampard has, through word and action, been clear all season that he is looking at training and performances to select his squad on merit. At times Pulisic has had that merit. At others he has not.

The main culprits yesterday seem to have been Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Mount gets it for being Mount but yesterday he was arguably one of the best players on the pitch throughout. Loftus-Cheek was returning from a year of not playing, but had allegedly done very well in the closed door friendlies. That is information fans would not be privy to but important information nonetheless.

Those are acceptable choices, even in the light of Pulisic coming on and changing the game. If Pulisic needed to sit on the sideline to be able to come on and do that, then so be it. If he needed to sit against Villa to be able to start and be hungry against Manchester City, then even better.

Lampard knew which carrot to dangle in front of Pulisic. He has earned that benefit of the doubt throughout the season and he has far more behind the scenes information than the rest of the world. Pulisic is a great player, but not one that absolutely has to start every single match. If Lampard can use him at the right moments, that will go a longer way than just using him constantly like many want.