The Pride of London
Fansided

The curious case of Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic

By Oliver Smith

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 04: Christian Pulisic of Chelsea during the pre season friendly between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on August 4, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 04: Christian Pulisic of Chelsea during the pre season friendly between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on August 4, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
MADRID, SPAIN – APRIL 27 Christian Pulisic of Chelsea celebrates after scoring their side’s first goal during the UEFA Champions League Semi Final First Leg match between Real Madrid and Chelsea FC at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on April 27, 2021 in Madrid, Spain. Sporting stadiums around Spain remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN – APRIL 27 Christian Pulisic of Chelsea celebrates after scoring their side’s first goal during the UEFA Champions League Semi Final First Leg match between Real Madrid and Chelsea FC at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on April 27, 2021 in Madrid, Spain. Sporting stadiums around Spain remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images) /

Reason for optimism

In-spite of the dour nature of this article so far, there is reason for both Chelsea fans and Pulisic himself to be optimistic. On the injury front, Pulisic’s last spell on the medical table ended on October 31, 2021. Since his return from the physio’s room, he has made three Champions League appearances, two Carabao Cup appearances and 10 (of his 11) Premier League appearances. That is especially significant considering out of those 10 league appearances, many—if not all—have been in attacking positions. He has completed the full 90 minutes six times, scoring twice during the same span. That’s evidence that when fit, Tuchel needs to learn to trust the American to play in this Chelsea team as he has in recent times.

Pulisic has finally benefitted from some good luck in that he has been one of the few wingers reliably fit as of late. He is back on the scoresheet it looks like, and against Liverpool, he could have had more than one if not for the excellent positioning and reflexes of Caoimhin Kelleher. In many ways, the Liverpool contest showed flashes of the Pulisic that looked to have inherited the Hazard mantle back in 2019/20. It will take some time for him to reach those heights again, but if he stays off the physio table and continues to work hard, Pulisic has a leg up on Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech and possibly even Werner for that role of starting left winger.

The only further wrinkle that could arise would be the return of a certain mercurial Belgian who just recently celebrated his 31st birthday, but has yet to match the inordinately high heights of his career in London in the Spanish capital. Time will ultimately tell but as long as Pulisic stays healthy and continues to get into goalscoring positions, he will make his own luck.

Next. Chelsea mostly does everything they need to do against Chesterfield. dark

Is Pulisic part of Chelsea’s best XI? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!

Home/Chelsea FC Roster