Christian Pulisic is having the time of his life at Chelsea.
Pulisic bagged his eighth league goal of the season and his third since returning to action in Chelsea’s 3-2 London Derby win over Crystal Palace on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old received a pass just inside of Palace’s box and shifted to his left before ripping a left-footed shot into the top corner. It was a confident strike for Pulisic who has arguably been Chelsea’s best player since returning to action.
PULISIC. AGAIN. 💥 #MyPLSummer pic.twitter.com/a7YQ2vpvVP
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) July 7, 2020
Wilfried Zaha’s magical strike pulled the Eagles to within one not long after Pulisic doubled Chelsea’s advantage. Tammy Abraham extended Chelsea’s lead to 3-1 before Christian Benteke’s goal with 20+ minutes to play made it interesting.
Chelsea would hang on for a 3-2 win, moving up to third place pending Leicester City’s result at Arsenal. The Blues continue to push for a top-four finish knowing Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers are right behind them in the league table.
Frank Lampard’s side has a strong chance though if Pulisic continues to perform the way he’s been doing.
Hoooooo. That was a freaking lethal Cobra strike.
Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t he also play better and have more production when he played on the left side for Dortmund?
According to transfermkt which doesn’t always get positions correct especially if it is a substitute appearance at BvB
LW 28 app. 6g 2a 1636 minutes
RW 82 app. 11g 20a 4820 minutes
That’s across all competitions for Dortmund’s first team so he scored more goals on the left but assisted more on the right.
I felt sorry for the Crystal Palace goal keeper. He didn’t stand a chance.
I’m looking forward to seeing the continued growth of Pulisic, McKenney, Adams and maybe Sargent or Weah… (last 2 haven’t proven themselves yet)… If Reyna can step up in the next 12 months, the World Cup is going to be fun to watch! Curious to see if Steffen, Miazga, and Carter-Vickers have what it takes.
This kid’s the real deal, folks.
That was an awesome strike. It looked like the wrong choice, until he hit it, that is. Just Wow.This was a fast paced, intense, and well played game. If you haven’t seen it and have a chance to see a replay, you should watch.Considering the number of games he has played, CP 22’s record of scoring and assists this season is probably the best of any American in a top 5 league in history, when you consider per 90 minutes played. Anyone remember at the beginning of the season? Pulisic hardly played the first half dozen games and everybody was freaking out about whether he was going to cut it or not. All doubts have been erased.
Dempsey in 11/12 was better over all competitions, Pulisic this year is slightly better in strictly EPL matches. A goal every 183 mins to 1 every 195 for Clint. McBride as a mostly a sub in 04/05 just behind as well. His 6 goals in the final 9 matches of that season maybe the most comparable. Dempsey and Pulisic also has assists whereas Brian only had goals that season.
And Dempsey turned 29 during the 11/12 season.
Missed the assists in the calculations first time:
Pulisic 8g 2a in 1471 mins g/a every 147
Demps 17g 7a in 3325 mins g/a every 139
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All Comp
Pulisic 9g 6a in 2043 mins g/a every 136
Demps 23g 8a in 4098 mins g/a every 132
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Best run
CP 5g/1a 289 mins g/a every 48 mins Oct 6 – Nov 9
CD 4g/2a 360 mins g/a every 60 mins Mar31-Apr 21
Hard to quantity all the other contributions from CP like drawing the penalties and fouls in dangerous areas. Bottom line it’s been eight years since we’ve had a player doing this well in the EPL and because coverage has changed we actually get to see it. Also nice it’s for a team 3rd and not 9th (spending most of the season between 12th and 16th)
Really looking forward to seeing what a Pulisic & Reyna combination will look like once international matches return. Pulisic is lighting it up right now, and Reyna was really starting to grow down the stretch for BvB. These 2 could be a dynamic duo the likes of which we’ve never seen before for the USMNT. Throw in Adams & McKennie and this could be our best midfield ever….especially considering it looks like we’ll have some very nice bench options as well.
Reyna’s still very young and has had a few good months, let’s hope he continues to grow. Not a USMNT player, but Jonathan Gonzalez had a good few months when he debuted in Mexico but seems to have stalled since then. So nothing is guaranteed for Gio, but if he progresses over the next 5 years we may have a legitimate # 10, with Adams and McKennie behind him, Pulisic on one wing and someone on the other wing. That could easily be the best midfield in USMNT history. Maybe we can make some noise on home soil in 2026.
JGone was playing in Liga Mx so not exactly apple to apples.
No, not an apples to apples comparison. More just to demonstrate the general point that a young player can have a few very good months and get hyped up, but that continued improvement or progression is not guaranteed. No doubt that Liga MX is not the Bundesliga, but JG was a Liga MX Best XI player that one season.
While I agree that nothing is guaranteed…the big difference IMO is that 1) Reyna is a year younger and playing in a higher caliber league than JG. 2) BvB has a significant track record of young player development and know how to get the best out of these types of players. 3) Reyna’s Coaches, teammates, & the Media have all praised his abilities and maybe more important his maturity.
Not saying that he doesn’t have a long road ahead of him or that there won’t be bumps along the way. Just pointing out that at this point Reyna @ 17 is further along in his career development/progression than most players that age in a top 5 league.
He’s saw consistent minutes for a EUFA Champions League level club…and not just mop up minutes. Saw meaningful minutes in EUFA Champions League games.
Next season will hopefully be a defining season for him. He will hopefully have even more opportunities since I believe Sancho is likely to be sold this off-season.
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I’m hoping that Weah & Uli will have break-out seasons next year as well. If they do it’ll help relieve some of the pressures/expectations that USMNT Fans (myself included) may place on Reyna….while also providing him challengers for a roster spot with the USMNT.
please stay healthy; please stay healthy; please stay healthy
Amen!
This Pulisic guy is pretty good