Chelsea and American starlet Christian Pulisic has looked a shadow of his former self under Thomas Tuchel, but with nagging injuries seemingly behind him, the door is open for the Pennsylvania native to rediscover his best form. Pulisic’s best form for the Blues in the Premier League came in the 2019/20 season under Frank Lampard with 25 appearances to his name (19 starts) where he contributed nine goals and four assists.
That season, the league goals he scored also were varied, showing the ability to finish with both feet—four goals with his right, three with his left—and two headed goals. In the league that year, he created six big chances and had his highest percentage of shooting accuracy across the duration of the season Across all competitions in 2019/20, Pulisic made 34 appearances for Chelsea switching between the left and right flank adding a further three goals and six assists for a total 11 goals and 10 assists. That output bettered long-standing Chelsea winger Willian, and Pulisic did it in 13 fewer appearances than the Brazilian.
The 2020/21 season actually saw Pulisic make more total appearances (27) but fewer starts with just 18 and only four goals and two assists. From there, for a variety of reasons, it went downhill for the Chelsea winger.
What’s changed?
On the face of it, the decline is stark under Tuchel with just 11 appearances and seven starts in the Premier League this year, scoring just three goals and tallying zero assists. Tack on another six appearances in other competitions and just two assists—the numbers make for grim viewing. The stat line does not tell the full story though, as the American has battled injury since the reign of Lampard. In fact, the USMNT regular captain hasn’t been at the peak of his fitness since the middle of the 2019/20 season. That much is evident when watching Chelsea’s No. 10 play. Gone are the slaloming, marauding runs that earned him Eden Hazard comparisons and instead, you see a much more hesitant Pulisic.
Certainly, the injuries have played a part. Since a tear in his abductor muscle on January 2, 2020, Pulisic has missed 40 Chelsea games, and spent 332 days on the sidelines. That will wreak havoc on any player, let alone a still young and developing winger. The injuries have also come at the worst time for Pulisic. Just as he was establishing himself in the Blues’ starting XI, and indeed becoming the focal point in Lampard’s team, he goes down with that abductor tear. The next three injuries suffered between June 29, 2020 and August 2, 2020 were all leg and muscle injuries. Pulisic was able to stay injury free from November 27, 2020 until August 30, 2021, but by then, Lampard was out the door. While Tuchel used the American, he looked like he had missed 332 days of football—showing glimpses—but never quite the Pulisic of old.
New arrivals further clog the path
It hasn’t only been injuries that have disrupted the American’s return to the Chelsea starting XI. The subsequent arrival of Kai Havertz posed the first problem as Lampard often deployed Havertz and Mason Mount in the advanced attacking roles. Timo Werner’s arrival also did not help Pulisic’s situation as he was deployed up front atop the dual No. 8s in Havertz and Mount. As Werner continued to miss the mark in front of goal, Lampard—and Tuchel as he continued his predecessor’s actions—started deploying Werner on the left flank, the position Pulisic found himself playing more and more due to there being little room on the right.
Hakim Ziyech, a natural right winger, presented another level of competition in the American’s favoured right wing. Even when the Moroccan went down with injuries, Pulisic himself was on the sidelines and couldn’t take advantage of the hit to his direct competition. Tuchel turned to Callum Hudson-Odoi and more frequently, Mount, to play that wide right role. The former of the two also frequents Pulisic’s favored left wing when he’s fit.
When Pulisic has returned to the line-up, Tuchel has used him as a wingback in recent months. While it’s certainly good to get back on the pitch, it’s far from the attacking role the No.10 likely craves. He’s just significantly better than Hudson-Odoi in that position and the unfortunate reality of Chelsea’s current injury crisis is the fact someone has to occupy that area. Slowly, that has been changing. Despite the return to action, watch the American closely and while he is still drawing the fouls he used to, he looks to have lost a yard of pace. For someone who operates best when running past players and at speed, his current form and attributes he is showing when on the pitch—in any position—is relatively concerning to those who know what he is capable of doing.
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.
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