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Lampard: “It’s in Pulisic’s hands to continue making impact”

Christian Pulisic’s stellar run of form has not only pleased Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, but has started comparison links to a former star at the club.

Pulisic’s has made five appearances in Project Restart, scoring in victories over Aston Villa and Manchester City respectively. Not only has Pulisic showed his eye for goal, but he’s made an impact when it comes to getting into good places on the field and winning fouls in dangerous areas.

Following Saturday’s 3-0 win over Watford, Pulisic was linked to former Chelsea winger Eden Hazard, who is now trying to help Real Madrid claim the La Liga title in Spain. Pulisic is riding a good run of form for Chelsea right now, but Lampard admitted the two players are different types of playmakers.

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“Eden had a special talent straightaway of being able to receive the ball, show great balance and go past players,” Lampard said Monday. “He would draw a lot of players towards him to open up space for others. He was pretty unselfish with making assists that way.”

“Christian is possibly more direct in his style sometimes, in terms of how he goes past players and runs off the ball, which I like. He has a real ability to break a line and run forward. That’s a great trait in the modern game.”

Pulisic is only one season in at Chelsea following his $70 million move from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in 2019. Despite an adductor injury sidelining him for close to two months at the start of 2020, Pulisic has come back firing for the Blues, helping them remain in the race for a top-four finish and a spot in next season’s Champions League.

The 21-year-old has scored eight goals and registered six assists in 28 combined appearances, while also learning a new system under Lampard in the former midfielder’s first season in charge. Both Hazard and Pulisic were 21 when they joined the Blues, but Lampard is focusing on the present with the U.S. Men’s National Team star a key piece in the team’s attack.

“Eden has been here and done it, and did it to an incredible level,” Lampard said. “Christian has it in his hands to make a real impact over a period of time. The thing I’m so happy with now is when we’re finding it hard to break teams down, he is taking responsibility to change that. It’s been great to see.”

Pulisic and Chelsea sit fourth in the league table, two points clear of fifth place Manchester United with five matches remaining. Up next is a London Derby at Crystal Palace on Tuesday before a trip to Sheffield United next weekend.

Chelsea also remains in the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League competitions, two additional opportunities for Pulisic to continue his impressive season and possibly lead the team to trophies.

Comments

  1. Could care less what Lampard thinks. Great player but CFC has dropped a table spot this year (3rd to 4th — he would have to win-out to match last year’s points), just lost to West Ham, he’s always touting Mount who was with him at Derby when the production numbers favor CP. To me the people he likes get effusive praise and meanwhile CP coming off a few weeks of goals gets a guarded response. Meh.

    Reply
    • IMO he’s protecting him a little. Both Mount and Pulisic will need some protecting from media hype but I think Pulisic is more at risk right now given how much his accomplishments stand out from the current and historical USA player pool.

      Lampard knows what he’s doing I think, Puli will be fine and Lampard will handle him well.

      Reply
      • Lampard is not going to keep the CFC job long if CL becomes at risk. I guess because Liverpool and City are the table elite CFC is kind of an afterthought. As a CFC and Fulham fan, I notice where their table spot goes. CFC was 3rd under Sarri with more PPG. The defense will already be 5 GA worse than last season as of now, and they would have to win every remaining game to match their points (and probably table spot) of last season. Abramovich likes his ex players but Lampard is not going to get infinite time to learn the job.

    • You obviously do not watch chelsea matches. Mount is an industrious midfielder. Pulisic plays winger.. yeesh. They couldn’t be more different as players

      Reply
      • Don’t lecture me about what you don’t know. Neither one is a pure specialist. They overlap.
        Mount shows up 5 times as a LW this season for CFC. Pulisic has also played CAM for CFC. this season. There is also a basic “numbers” issue where they can only field so many mids. Against that background, Mount has played 42 games and Pulisic 28. Pulisic outscores and outassists him. Pure favoritism.

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