Just dropped a defender to his knees. This kid is not over his head out there. Perfect setup for him with all the speed and skill-type players next to him. Not much opposition today, but you still gotta get it done. Very impressive.
The assist: Banana split assist for @cpulisic_10 pic.twitter.com/U78bq3uzGP— J.R. Eskilson (@JREskilson) September 17, 2016 ETA: The FIRST assist.
People just need to get used to the fact that any attacking player will sit on the bench for a couple of games. There's just too much talent available. Even the "big players" like Götze won't play every game. But there are plenty of games for everyone with the League, Cup and Champions League.
The second assist: Happy Tuchel and assist no. 2 for Pulisic in BVB's 6-0 win over Darmstadt pic.twitter.com/kAzPxdzSql— J.R. Eskilson (@JREskilson) September 17, 2016
It wasn't shown in that video, but it was great to see how appreciative Mor was of Pulisic for that cross. He immediately ran over to him and gave him a huge hug. First appearance and first goal for Mor, who looked like a monster on the ball with his technique and close control.
Just some neat perspective: Kevin De Bruyne made his top flight debut just one month before turning 18. That was with Genk in the Belgium league. He didn't get bought by Chelsea for another three years at the age of 21 and then basically spent the next three years split between Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg before being bought by Man City. I think we can relax being upset with Pulisic's playing time. He's playing ton for an 18 year old and probably getting more first team time then any other American 18 year old in the world (even the ones that play every game in college soccer). And he looks great! He looks really great.
It's the meaningfulness of the time. To play for a top 10 team in the world he has to push himself. To keep getting on the field he has to actually contribute on the field. He has to know how to play in a high functioning system and gets the chance to dominate weak teams, not things that every player gets to experience.
KDB is one of my favorite players and someone who I think shares some similarities with Pulisic in the way they play. His final ball and finishing are nowhere near the level of KDB currently but they share the ability to operate in any of the three slots behind the striker and constantly run at opposing defenses. I think Pulisic is a significantly faster than KDB, who isn't exactly slow himself. On to the game... After the first half, I was going to comment that it was the worst half as a professional that I'd seen him play. He had several loose touches and struggled to get involved on the right side but he really picked it up afterwards. I still think there's room for improvement in his crossing but who can argue with 1 goal and 2 assists? He looks a lot more effective on the left and was brimming with confidence after that goal. Not a bad way to cap off his final day as a 17 year old. He had the second highest WhoScored rating for BVB with a 9.3 (Castro had a 10). Timo Werner had 4 goals before he turned 18.
By the way, I know this is another one of those "records" that aren't important, but is he now the youngest player to score 3 goals in the BLiga? I know he was the youngest to 2 and seeing as he's still 17, I'm pretty confident it's the case.
I have to say that you are a very hard marker. I think he is one of the better crossers in football. Almost all of his crosses find their way across the six. To me he is a very tidy player that positions himself well and reads the game in front of him anticipating what will happen next. He makes things happen for the players around him. He is the best American player I have ever seen, and what is so exciting is that he is likely to get better as he gets stronger.
Said Anklebreaker Send get well soon baskets to Sirigu. pic.twitter.com/XQ6HNNk9xW— J.R. Eskilson (@JREskilson) September 17, 2016
I love what Tuchel has done. After the international break he immediately put the brakes on the hype train with his quotes, then (presumably after Christian responded well in training) played him 90 in 2 straight games.