Chelsea: Four lessons learnt as Blues move on to FA Cup semis

2. Christian Pulisic might actually be this good

Ok, ok. It’s almost the Fourth of July, so I’ll say it: Christian Pulisic is Chelsea’s best player … at least for the moment. After scoring in Chelsea’s first two matches of the Project Restart era, Pulisic very nearly got Chelsea on the scoreboard again, as his powerful drive forced Kasper Schmeichel to parry his effort up and over the bar.

It’s interesting to note that Pulisic and Mason Mount are both 21. Both are extremely technically skilled, tenacious and play similar positions. Yet, Pulisic plays like a full-grown adult, whereas Mount still seems like a bit of a lightweight. Pulisic’s physical attributes are a bit freakish for his tender age, and he’s using those attributes to tear his opponents limb from limb.

In the first half against Leicester, the Blues were reduced to seeking out the smallest of scraps going forward. Fortunately, Pulisic’s game is simple enough that he only needs scraps to have an impact. He carried the ball forward effectively, rode challenges and endured fouls, and made the right decisions when Chelsea managed to pry their way into the final third. In that sense, he’s a bit like a young Eden Hazard. In fact, if anything, Hazard suffered from being a bit too selfless early on, whereas Pulisic has no problem forcing the issue when there are no better options available. In a match like this one, where any choreographed attacking moves were off the table, a direct attacker like Pulisic was the one release valve Chelsea could rely on to relieve some of the pressure Leicester were applying.

The only part of his day that would bring anything other than a smile to Chelsea fans’ faces was seeing him nursing his calf muscle after being replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the 72nd minute.

That’s the rub with Pulisic. For all of his exceptional physical gifts and smooth athleticism, he’s been chronically slightly injured for a lot of his young career. It’s entirely possible that those two things are interconnected. With that in mind, Frank Lampard’s ability to manage Pulisic’s (and everyone else’s) workload will be a major factor in how these final matches of the season turn out. If we see this version of Pulisic a few more times this season, Chelsea should be sitting pretty when it’s all said and done.