Christian Pulisic has brought a new fire to Frank Lampard‘s Chelsea‘s squad which has been exciting all the fans of the club and which reminds them of the glory days of Eden Hazard at Stamford Bridge.
Hazard left Chelsea in the summer of 2019 to Real Madrid when Chelsea was banned from signing players due to transfer irregularities. In the 7 years the 29-year-old Belgium spent with Chelsea, he was spectacular at the wings of the club, causing series of problems for opposing defenders with his skills, pace and tricks on the ball. He literally carried Chelsea on his shoulder from 2016-2017 season to 2018-2019 season, helping them to win Premier League, FA Cup and EFL Cup during those seasons.
Hence, when he left Stamford Bridge, in the summer of 2019, it was like half of the club was no more. No player could fill that void, not even Brazilian Willian. No one could trouble oppositions’ defence, no one could create chances and no one could be as entertaining as the Belgium forward at Stamford Bridge. But it seems Christian Pulisic, an American winger is about to fill that void.
Pulisic joined Chelsea in January 2019 from German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund for a transfer fee worth about £57.6 million. The 21-year-old American remained with Borussia Dortmund until the beginning of 2019-2020 season. He started showing great promise at the beginning of the season until January 2020 when he was hit by an adductor injury.
Christian Pulisic’s impact
Since the Premier League returned from the coronavirus break in June, Christian Pulisic has shown how important he can be for Chelsea from now until 2024, when his current contract with the club will expire.
So far since the restart of the season, the American has won two penalties for Chelsea as his trickery on the ball is becoming too much for defenders to handle in their box eighteen. He has been fouled twice in the box eighteen in two matches which resulted into penalty which Willian scored beautifully. In the match against West Ham, he was fouled near the box eighteen which resulted in a free-kick which Willian also scored.
Altogether this season, he has managed to play 20 Premier League matches, scoring 7 goals and making 2 assists. Besides his goals and assists, he has become the most fouled player in Chelsea’s squad, a record that was held by Eden Hazard.
Similarities Between Christian Pulisic and Eden Hazard
Just like Eden Hazard, Pulisic can run with the ball on the flanges of the pitch and can find his way through defenders without falling until he gets to a critical part of the pitch like the box-eighteen.
Though his dribbling skills have not become as sharp as how Hazard’s was in his good years with Chelsea, Pulisic can manoeuvre his way through tight spaces using some fast-paced feet work that can frustrate a defender to commit a foul. Besides that, he has the ability to turn players on the run and stylishly stop motion in order to lay a pass to an attacker. Most importantly, he can also score goals when he has the chance.
Though Chelsea lost to West Ham United 3-2, these Pulisic’s attributes were greatly seen in the match. The attributes were even more pronounced in the match against Watford on Saturday where Chelsea won 3-0, thanks to the first-class display of the American.
