It was close- regardless that will be a boost of confidence. Liverpool aren't playing well, but our dude has shown he can hang. love it.
The pass was very good, but my favorite part of the assist is the five touches preceding the pass. Each touch was exactly what it needed to be (lateral vs. forward, long vs. short) as the play developed.
He was good today. In those 2 plays, the offside goal and the assist, he was fantastic. His ability to do that more often/consistently is going to determine whether or not he's world class, but either way he will have a great opportunity to be very effective, if Frank keeps using him in this way, moving cleverly on the wing, dropping deep into pockets and providing a capable dribbling outlet as Kova/Kante beat people and put opposing midfields on the back foot. The real issue will always be the final ball, but if this continues I personally certainly underrated his ability to produce in this first season with Chelsea. Pedro, Kante, Giroud, they all look like good foils for him in this match and healthy Odoi will be another one. Pulisic good game, Liverpool lift the trophy... a good day!
My guess is that Christian will be behind Willian and Pedro in the pecking order for big 6 matches, as well as Euro matches. Today was good evidence of why that is. He's more gifted and athletic than Pedro, capable of creating moments that Pedro is simply not. But Pedro is far more consistent off the ball, tactically exceptional, and still very very good in passing. Willian is still a pretty dynamic player, and I'd imagine Lampard would consider him better at the moment than a still growing Pulisic. Puli's highs are better than Pedro/Willian, but his lows are way lower as well. The future is going to be him and CHO, but he'll eventually grow into that. Finally, it's actually a really good thing to be part of a 4 man rotation for the attacking mid positions on a big 6 side. Too many intense matches.
Honestly think Mason Mount is good for CP; CP is good for Mason Mount. Between the two of them they have almost 200 appearances of professional football *Mount's came at Vitesse and Derby*. Mason is just 8 months older than Christian. By swapping between the two, neither is going to get the pressure that comes with a youngster being an auto starter and hitting the inevitable lowpoints. Obviously Chelsea bought Pulisic to not have those lows, but he's going to even if he reaches his ceiling. As is, they allow Chelsea to play a similar game with both of them in there. Will be interesting if and how frequently they see the field together. Christian's had a bunch of little knocks and didn't look like he could do a full 90 today.
That said it's one good game. He'll certainly start this weekend, let's see if he replicates this form.
Pedro made a whole top-tier career built on him knowing where to be off the ball -- he stands to be able to teach CP a LOT.
sweet sweet game for Pulisic. He made a difference, and not just on the assist. He was really part of the game and chances for Chelsea. I never really watched Chelsea before Pulisic got there. I do like the one they call Pedro.
I think some of y’all may rate Pedro much higher than I. Too selfish and just not good enough any more. My main concern about Pulisic is surviving the pounding and death tackles that are coming.
I'm not much of a EPL fan so I don't get all the Chelsea hate. They are a fun side to watch. Kante is just breathtakingly under control, confident and composed not to mention incredibly talented and athletic to boot. Giroud and Pedro have some tricks left in their sleeves despite maybe slowing a step and Pulisic fits in well with them. Mount is a nice player and their keeper has some incredible reflexes, maybe not the best distributor yet. Plus for the neutrals their back 4 isn't very good so they let in a lot of goals to boot despite pretty attacking play.
Chelsea and fun to watch are two things you don’t find in one statement together often. Kante is like having having an extra player so hopefully he has a good season and keeps this team from getting overrun. It feels like a combination of a little over the hill mixed with a little too green - and not enough talent. The key will be if Lampard can get them playing as a team because as good as Hazard was - it felt like too much of a one man show last season.
First they were hated because they were the first of the mercenary clubs, but now all of the super clubs are mercenary clubs, and honestly Chelsea is probably the best of the super clubs to promote from the academy these days. Then they were coached by Jose Mourinho, and he’s hated for both his personality (he’s a bit of an asshole) and style of play (safety first, risk aversion, grind out results), and then replaced him with Conte...who also wasn’t known for attractive play, and when they did get someone who wanted to play attractively he left after just a season. But I think a lot of fans resent them for the money thing.
I think it’s a lot of things - posh neighborhood, first to field all foreign players, John Terry, corrupt Russian billionaire, Diego Costa, being successful for a long time, most expensive tickets, apparently some history of hooliganism, Mourinho, dodgy loans, etc.
This is normally, for me, very accurate. But I must admit overall he's been better than I thought he'd be during this stint at Chelsea.
Much improved game for CP. It helps to have a proven striker waiting to receive his passes -- no way Abraham scores off that. Don't like how Pulisic gets muscled off the ball so easily, but a bulk-up might detract from his speed/agility. You can see how having a healthy Kante -- the greatest DM in the world -- completely transforms Chelsea. With him, there's always a chance of ending up within the top 4. Without him, they're nothing.
Nobody noticed that he came off hobbling? Something from his last action at the 18 yard line. He had some good moments but needs to get on the same offensive page with his teammates. I'm hoping for the best but my nattering nabob is shaking his head.
I knew days like this would come. So conflicted watching this match. I’m glad we took the trophy home and CP played well.
I can't say I'm a Chelsea expert, but based upon watching their defense the last 2 games, it's disappointing that Miazga can't even be a bench option!