After watching Christian Pulisic shine for Chelsea the past few weeks, it would be remiss of United States soccer fans (indulging the Americanism this one time) to not ask an intriguing question. “Pulisic is the US’ best player. Can he become the best player at Chelsea as well?”
Unequivocally yes. Maybe not this year or next year, nor is it guaranteed, as nothing in football or life ever is. However, it’s abundantly clear he has the talent needed and can develop into the talisman at Chelsea, just as he already is for the US.
Why Christian Pulisic Can Become the Best Player at Chelsea
Chelsea’s Best Player at the Moment
Over the past month, ‘Captain America’ has hit a spectacular run of form across all competitions. He has scored or assisted in four of the Blues’ previous five Premier League matches, including a perfect hat trick against Burnley. He also scored what turned out to be the winner against Watford.
Against Ajax in the Champions League, he also made huge contributions, assisting the winning goal in Amsterdam as a sub. He then got the assist for the second goal in the return fixture in London, sparking the comeback in that wild 4-4 match.
With his perfect hat trick at Turf Moor, he not only earned Man Of The Match and the match ball, but he also scored a perfect 10 out of 10 from ESPN, Who Scored, and other outlets.
Against Crystal Palace this past weekend, he threatened the visitor’s goal time and time again from the first minute until his very last touch, heading in an insurance goal before subbing off due to a hip injury.
As Mason Mount, another young Chelsea player, has cooled off from his hot start, Pulisic has picked up the slack and made himself an automatic starter for the time being. Through 12 Premier League rounds and four UCL matchdays, Pulisic is tied for second in goals, five, with centre-forward Michy Batshuayi and behind another striker, Tammy Abraham. In total, he has 11 goals and assists combined, second in the club behind Abraham who has 15.
And remember, Pulisic is both a wide player, not a center forward, and an assist-maker more than a goal-scorer.
Since earning minutes as a substitute and more recently as a starter, Pulisic has delivered. He has scored, assisted, earned penalties, threatened on goal, run the attack, and absolutely dazzled. ‘Captain America’ has done it in big moments and in ‘garbage time’. The USMNT star has affected games as a sub and a starter in the Premier League and Champions League.
Clearly he has the talent to be the talisman and displays it every match at the moment. But where was all this at the beginning of the year? Why the change and improvement?
Maybe it’s adjusting to a new league, moving to a new country. That’s possible, but unfalsifiable and hard to truly cite as the reasons. There are, however, some clear reasons.
New Formation Yielding Dividends
The biggest reason for his uptick in form comes down to a change in formation. At the beginning of the year, manager Frank Lampard employed the 4-3-3. And it held Pulisic back. The recent switch to 4-2-3-1, though, has unlocked him and Chelsea.
Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho have proven a fantastic partnership and double pivot in midfield. This has allowed the full backs to provide width while the trio of Pulisic, Mount, and Willian can roam freely. And this benefits Pulisic the most.
The double pivot gives the center halves two men covering in front of them, not one as in the 4-3-3. Previously, Ross Barkley or N’Golo Kante would join the attack through the channels as the third midfielder meaning fullbacks Cesar Azpilicueta and either Emerson or Marcos Alonso would need to be more defensive-minded with only Jorginho in front of the central defenders.
With Kante or Barkley and Kovacic attacking through the channels, Pulisic needed to stay wide to not overcrowd the box. And with the fullbacks more defensive minded, the American had to provide the width, which really hampered him.
Pulisic excels at dribbling, taking on defenders, and attacking the penalty area. He uses his above-average pace to go left past the defender to the byline or right to cut into the box. Attacking the penalty as an inverted winger from the left side is where he excels.
With the formation change, he has been able to take advantage of his strengths and join the attack in the best way he can instead of sheepishly staying wide and ineffective.
Alonso Compliments Pulisic Well
Another huge contributor to Pulisic’s breakout is the other men out on the pitch. Pulisic played wide left, and sometimes right, in 4-3-3 with Emerson at left back. And in those early games, ‘Captain America’ needed to stay wide to provide width. Emerson is good going forward, but definitely more defensive-minded than Marcos Alonso.
More recently, though, the Spaniard has featured at left back due to Emerson’s injuries. And with a more attack minded player on the flank, Lampard gave Pulisic the freedom to move inside more.
Even with Emerson returning to left back against Palace, Pulisic has shown he is most lethal when given the freedom to attack. Providing width now falls to Emerson and surely Lampard won’t revert to Pulisic hugging the touchline now.
The formation change and his partnership with Alonso combined to work wonders for Pulisic, allowing him to thrive at Chelsea.
Young, But Shining Against The Best
For all the great things he’s done in recent weeks, his best performances have come against some mediocre sides. However, he has also risen to the occasion against the best opponent in the Champions League.
Plus, it’s the Premier League. Burnley is a first tier team, so are Watford and Crystal Palace. I don’t see other 21-year-olds running roughshod over them every weekend. Pulisic still had to strike the ball well. He needed to make the right runs. He has earned his starting spot and earned his place as the most potent player at Chelsea right now.
Moreover, and it is a bit of a false equivalency, yet it is true – Christian Pulisic is the only Chelsea player that captains his national team. How much is that worth? Who knows. But it’s a nice cherry on top.
Breaking Records Already, More To Come
Although he’ll miss this month’s international duty with the USMNT due to a hip injury, he’s without a doubt the talisman of the team. As goes Pulisic, so goes the US.
And right now, as goes Pulisic, so goes Chelsea. Captain America must continue to work hard and improve as teams will certainly learn his tendencies and create ways to neutralize him.
This is just the beginning, though. Christian Pulisic battled through the adversity of going from starter to sub to dropped from the squad earlier this year and has roared back to become the most in-form player at the club right now.
He has already set personal records, career high league goals in a season. He became Chelsea’s youngest ever player to score a hat trick in the Premier League. At the same time, he is now the youngest American to score a Premier League hat trick.
It’s only November and he has set personal, club, and country records at Chelsea, a massive club. And he has done it in the Premier League, one of the top leagues in the world.
If he can do this at 21, imagine what he can do when he hits his peak at 25, 26, and 27.
Pulisic is already the best player for the US, can he also develop into the best player in the Chelsea squad between now and whenever his tenure at SW6 ends? At the moment, he is the most in-form player at the club and leading the team. And he certainly can be the man in the future.
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