werner was always limited and is now in a place where his limitations are woefully apparent and pressing on top of it all. havertz otoh looks like a completely different player. truth be told mason mount looks more like kai havertz than kai havertz does which is a complete shocker.
I like hearing the sounds but juxtaposing watching baseball this week with real crowd noise with the UCL empty stadiums there is no doubt which one I prefer.
The kid immediately turned his head to the right to make sure the ref flagged him for offside anyways so he wouldn't feel so bad about the miss.
No doubt that is a good quality, but that really should be a requirement rather than a virtue. I'd agree that is something that is sorely lacking today however, acceptance of responsibility.
Christian's not going anywhere folks: Tuchel's comments today: "Fitness is always important especially for Christian because he has this huge physical impact for us in the amount of sprints and the amount of intensity he can give to a team at then highest level," Tuchel said. "This is one of his biggest strengths. The other thing is that he need to feel confident and to feel calm, mentally, and then he can be a huge weapon for us. "He scored in the last game against West Brom, unfortunately the overall game and his need to go off the pitch at half-time clouded the goal and the impact he could have had with that goal. "But now again he was very close to scoring [against Porto], he had a huge impact from the bench. We have to take care about him, that he hopefully will not be re-injured because I feel him stronger and stronger, more and more self-confident. "He can be a decisive factor in the next game with his speed, his ability to dribble and his ability to arrive in the box in dangerous situations. "From balls from the side and crosses, he has the feeling to arrive and to score. So hopefully he can have that impact and it is our job to push him there, to calm his mind that he feels the trust and he feels confident." https://www.espn.com/soccer/chelsea...ic-will-be-huge-weapon-after-injury-struggles
It is clear that Tuchel views him as an impact sub. The question is if Pulisic and his representatives are satisfied with that.
I doubt he's satisfied with that. However, an impact sub (unlike a player who is completely out of favor with a manager) can always force his way into the conversation as a starter. And Pulisic seems to be on the cusp of doing that right now, if he doesn't reinjure himself along the way.
WTF happened to CHO and Tammy? Looks like they disappeared. If Pulisic gets into the situations CHO and Tammy are at right now, I'll be worried. He's doing just fine, getting some play time while working on getting back to full strength.
CHO is especially puzzling as it wasn't long ago it seemed he had knocked Pulisic from the lineup and become a starter. I'm going to take Teuchel at his word for now. It does seem very coach speak but he has kind of done what he says with regards to Pulisic. He is giving him minutes in spots we didn't think he would a month ago. He did start ahead of Werner only to have to pull him at half time. It seems possible he is slowly working him back in as he gets more healthy and his coincidence improves. He's probably trying to do the same with Werner and others. Next year will be proof. We'll see who departs, who arrives and what formations he chooses after reworking the team the first time. he may be completely lying and by next fall we will know the answer.
look at chos production and the story gets a lot more obvious imo. he was trending toward pulisics numbers and minutes when pulisic was hvaing a year framed as an abject disaster
I sense that Pulisic is so freaked out by his own hamstring that he may be ok with 25 min a game for now. I am sure he would not have been previously. But his on the field demeanor and body language is different than before FA cup. He was all aggression and explosiveness, making a lot of the kind of direct attacking plays like the one on which Chilwell scored against Porto. Now he is more cautious, turning on the jets only when the scoring opportunity is clear, and sometimes not even then.
Pretty much confirms he's going to be on the bench this weekend. He's never going to be a starter until he fixes his injury problems. Wish he could take a break after the season but USMNT will call
No top notch player would ever be satisfied with that. No club paying this kind of money would ever be satisfied with that.
I'm not so sure about that. That was my original opinion, too. But recently, there has been a lot more nuance (if Germans can have nuance?) in how Tuchel has addressed the CP issue. Especially in the context of nobody else going out of their way to push the attacking stats for the team all that much. CP's hamstring permitting, I suspect he is on his way into a reformulated starting lineup. And, soon.
Unfortunately for CP he is a super sub right now. And it's a role he's maybe built for. You can't trust his body to hold up for 90, but for the time he can give you he's an explosive attacker who can really punish tired defenders. That has super sub written all over it.
Healthy in form Pulisic= locked on starter. Until then he gets as many minutes as his body can handle. TT showed patience with oft injured players when he was at BVB. It is clear he rates our lad. Availability is the only thing keeping Timo on the pitch, as soon as CP gets a start and comes out in good shape, Timo's minutes are going to fall way off is my best guess. It is also clear he is rounding into a pretty good patch of form. Shaping up for a fun end of season, fight for CL in the PL and in a really nice spot to advance in CL. Fun times, beats the hell out of the only EPL light being a rainy night in Stoke watching a master class in negative football.
Tuchel views him as an impact sub because as a coach you plan your starting XI thinking of availability. If Puli stays healthy long enough, he'll be considered for more and more starting teams.
I'm sure CP and folks wouldn't be happy with it long term. Not sure it's such a big deal for Chelski (if, indeed, it's the kind of situation where CP comes in at 60-70 3/4 games, starts 1/4 or similar) if they are winning. You can only start 6 or 7 attacking players. Your squad costs the same whether the guy plays 90 or 30. The real problems will start if TT start him regularly and they lose/don't win. Then you might question your payroll.
I'm hoping he doesn't play at all today. Then Tuchel can start him vs. Porto. Down 2-0, they won't want to deal with someone as explosive as a rested CP as they try to push forward.