I agree Mount's a good player, but it'd be nice to see how Chelsea perform without him. He's the only player that hasn't been rotated. At the very least, he shouldn't be taking every single free kick and corner kick. There was a game recently where Ziyech was lining up to take a free kick from outside the box. And then at the very last second Mount waved him off and took the free kick - poorly. I was like, screw you Mount. It reminded me of a moment during one of the recent USMNT friendlies where Lletget did the same thing to Reyna on a corner kick. And I was like, screw you Lletget.
agreed .... If I am Tuchel my entire offense is built around Mount and Pulisic with Kovacic (out to due to injury of course) in behind them .... the problem is that Chilwell and Werner often forget the script.
He was suspended for the return leg against Atletico and the midfield was pretty incredible that day. It was Kante and Kova behind Havertz and Ziyech IIRC.
If him and Pulisic both improve their passing and decision making in the final third Chelsea's attack can become elite. My only complaint with Pulisic yesterday was his conservative passing once he got into dangerous positions. Sometimes you want to force a pass in the box and give your teammate a chance to make a play. He missed one chance to play Werner in to space down the sideline but other than that didn't really make any mistakes all game.
Mount’s ball skills seem to have improved markedly in recent months. He always had a great shot, but he is beating people off the dribble in ways I hadn’t seen before. Still not a great passer, but definitely playing better up front than I would have guessed he would.
We've seen some games without Mount starting, but why would you want to rotate him for rotation's sake when he's been one of the most consistent performers for Chelsea? He's deserved to start whenever he can. Do the English overrate him a bit? Maybe, but he's been performing most times he's played.
I think it's worth mentioning that Mount was trying to look for Pulisic a few times yesterday, but unfortunately his passes were always intercepted.
Good point. They tried to combine on at least three occasions, and each time Mount could not thread the eye of the needle to return the ball to Christian. Jorghino, Kante, and Chilwell all also misplayed throughballs to CP. Their offense really misses Kovacic. If he plays well, it lets them play Havertz effectively. If Kovacic doesn’t play, then Tuchel is more likely to play Werner. Kovacic is the one deep lying midfielder Chelsea have who can consistently break the lines with forward passing, combine with 1-2s for the advanced attackers, and by shuttling the ball with pace. They will miss him big time against Real Madrid (his former club).
I agree that those occasional rocket shots he takes, along with the fact that he's a local boy, boost his standing. But he is a solid player who is still improving his game. I like him as a player, even though he hasn't been quite as awesome lately. If you want to see *real* bias, look on the Chelsea boards at the hatred that they have for Jorginho because they want to see Billy Gilmour on the field. It is nothing short of insanity, really.
They are two players with different play styles in different positions. If anything they should form a partnership and lead the team. Every great duo or trio tend to be a midfield-forward combination. Don't pit them against each other. Instead, it should be the job of Tuchel to unlock both of them to their fullest potential.
Two very different players. Mount handles volume on attack while CP is more of a “find the moment to make something happen”guy. Nice to have both.
They really need to have more than two elite attacking players. That's the big problem Chelsea have right now. Oh and Christian is more involved in the attack than Mount, IMO. Pulisic is all over the attacking 3rd in trying to get to great spots to get the ball. You watch them with Puli, and it's a rare attack that he's not a part of. I think part of the reason Tuchel went with this system is there's not a natural midfield playmaker on the squad.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/chelsea...dismisses-injury-concerns-im-not-injury-prone Pulisic rejects concerns that he's injury prone. Not sure I can agree but I'm glad he feels that way. He also said that the USMNT friendlies helped revitalize his form. Same thing happened with Gio. These boys love playing for the national team. Good stuff.
To be fair to him, all his injuries this season stemmed from one big injury in July. Prior to that it was an abductor tear, which is a pretty random injury. Prior to that he was healthy at Chelsea, for the most part.
He also had some injuries during his first stint before the COVID lockdown. I remember quite well, as I went to the final Chelsea game before the lockdown and he was out that game with an injury, as well as a few games before it. Of course, he missed a lot of time at Dortmund for muscular issues as well. I count 44 games out with injury. Significant particularly when you consider that he has to be eased back into fitness and regain form after each injury spell. https://www.transfermarkt.com/christian-pulisic/verletzungen/spieler/315779 20/21 Muscle Injury Nov 3, 2020 Nov 27, 2020 24 days 4 20/21 Quarantine Oct 31, 2020 Nov 3, 2020 3 days 1 20/21 Hamstring Injury Aug 2, 2020 Oct 4, 2020 63 days 7 20/21 Calf Strain Aug 1, 2020 Aug 22, 2020 21 days 2 19/20 Calf Injury Jun 29, 2020 Jun 30, 2020 1 days - 19/20 Tear in the abductor muscle Jan 2, 2020 Jun 6, 2020 156 days 12 19/20 Muscle bruise Dec 28, 2019 Dec 31, 2019 3 days 1 19/20 Groin Injury Nov 10, 2019 Nov 22, 2019 12 days - 19/20 Arch pain Oct 2, 2019 Oct 2, 2019 0 days 1 18/19 Torn muscle bundle Mar 27, 2019 Apr 16, 2019 20 days 3 18/19 Torn Muscle Fibre Feb 14, 2019 Mar 2, 2019 16 days 3 18/19 Muscular problems Nov 30, 2018 Dec 5, 2018 5 days 1 18/19 Torn Muscle Fibre Oct 2, 2018 Oct 17, 2018 15 days 2 18/19 Muscular problems Aug 30, 2018 Sep 16, 2018 17 days 2 17/18 Influenza Mar 15, 2018 Mar 15, 2018 0 days 1 17/18 Knock Feb 19, 2018 Feb 19, 2018 0 days - 17/18 Shin bone bruise Jan 4, 2018 Jan 15, 2018 11 days 1 17/18 Abdominal Influenza Jan 4, 2018 Jan 8, 2018 4 days - 17/18 Muscular problems Nov 16, 2017 Nov 23, 2017 7 days 2 17/18 Calf Problems Oct 23, 2017 Oct 26, 2017 3 days 1 17/18 Muscular problems Aug 10, 2017 Aug 14, 2017 4 days 1 16/17 Ill Oct 24, 2016 Oct 27, 2016 3 days 1 15/16 Infection Mar 21, 2016 Mar 28, 2016 7 days -
The last time I looked closely, they had injuries on that list that covered periods when he was available for selection. They also had injuries that overlapped other injuries. For example, two days for a calf strain during the time he was out 63 days for a hamstring. He's played in 35 games this year, has been available but not used in five more, and there are still eight games left on the calendar. He's got a good chance at this point of playing in 43 games, while being available for 48. I'm not sure how anyone complains about that amount of availability for a player who busts his ass and gets mauled as much as he does on the field.
I am with you on this, his injury woes might be a tad overplayed. If I read the other poster right 44 games missed in six years of 50 plus games a season isn't really all that bad.
... when you are a young American and live overseas ... from time to time you will just be homesick and if you can get together with other Americans ... even while overseas - and especially during COVID - that just helps them. They are subject to emotion and mental health stresses - just like any other "kid" (and yes they are still kids).
He’s missed 44 games and played in 138 during this time period. 31 percent as many games missed for injury as actually played in. That’s not insignificant. He’s definitely missed more time than average for a young player. He does have a pattern.
Really weird post that has nothing to do with his propensity for muscular injuries. I also don’t understand infantilizing a 22 year old man either making 10 million a year.
sigh .... the poster talked about his revitalization due to playing with the USMNT in the friendlies .... that he loved it .... point being that it helped his recovery ... having lived in Europe at precisely that age a long way from home .... it does affect your outlook and attitude. Unless you are focused on money and don't care about family and friends - $10M does not magically fix your injuries - but being with friends and other Americans definitely helps. The mind is a very powerful tool.
That's correct. Neither is the answer to their midfield at the moment. Best thing they can do is send Gilmour out on loan so he can get consistent minutes and grow/develop further. No good keeping him on the Chelsea bench.