pulisic played okay, not his best. a few moments of brilliance. timos inability to stay onsides complicated things
Tuchel loved Werner's performance today. Clearly sees the running he does as the key to winning. He won't be dropped anytime soon.
There was a play in the middle of the game where CP had the ball and Timo was right ahead of him... CP could have passed thru any number of players to start the run but Timo just refused to stop and get back on sides. But I will give Timo this... he doesn't really seem to run out of gas. CP was sputtering a bit over the last 20 minutes. I guess that happens when you rarely play 90... hard to get into full-game shape. At any rate... no one out there on the pitch draws more players towards them with the ball than CP. On the 1st goal that hold-up turn was sic and probably the better pass would have been back to him... but whatever. I like how CP is coming back into the midfield for the ball more often. He just needs to watch it so he doesn't get his pocket picked liked he did a couple of times today. Solid... but not great game from CP considering the opponent.
Man City were really keying on him, w/ LaPorte & Ake in his pocket. CP was better when he realized he needed to draw & hit the early pass. That was the first half & closing stretch. In between he really felt the pressure to be the scorer or assist man, in hopes of impressing Tuchel for the UCL final. Played into City's hands. Overall I'd say his impact was more positive than negative. Ultimately he should have had 2 secondary assists & Chelsea pulled the upset on the road. How Tuchel feels about all this, I don't know. I'd start him in the final off that, but I already would have.
CP will definitely start one of the finals, but probably not both, imo - but I wish he would get to start both. if Tuchel gives him just one, I hope it’s the CL final.
I think you’re right - and I hate that. But could be worse. He could be not playing in finals at all, so I’ll take it
I thought Pulisic played well for 70 minutes but clearly started to run out of gas which led to some sloppy turnovers at the end. I'm sure the kick to the knee didn't help either. With Mount out he played a deeper role dropping back to help the midfield transition into attack. Werner and Ziyech aren't able to control the ball and turn in tight spaces as well as Pulisic. He did this job well as evidenced by his 1 and almost two "hockey" assists. Most the of the attacks through the first 60 minutes ran through Pulisic or the occasional Kante run. Given this role he wasn't really in a position to score. I don't think Chelsea deserved the win but they are very well positioned for the top 4 now. I don't think this game changes anything for Tuchel, Pulisic is still likely behind Mount and Werner and in the mix with Havertz for one of the three attacking spots. I do think Tuchel will notice how his play dropped off towards the end of the game.
I think CP had more responsibility on the pitch today than he typically does and looked only "decent" because he was asked to do so against great opposition. I'd be interested to compare heat maps to previous matches. It almost seemed to me that, of the front 3, he played the closest to the "Mount role." In the transition phase, he often received directly from the defenders rather than from Gilmour or Kante. This is where Mount is elite (i.e. the middle 1/3rd of the field in the transition phase). During these moments, Ziyech and Werner were advanced and CP would be level Kante/Billy. Once the ball reached the offensive final third, Christian was also trying to impact the game as he normally would. Understandably, he couldn't quite excel at both. He's good not great at a lot of things Mount does and vice versa.
Yeah but what would Tuchel do if he starts Pulisic in the FA cup final and he scores a hat trick after being down 2-0 at half winning the game 3-2?
Your post is probably sarcasm, but in that situation, TT would say CP has earned a well deserved rest for his heroic action. The Premier League script writers (tm Men in Blazers) have a sense of humor: Chelsea play Man City in the EPL within weeks of meeting them again in the Champions League final. Chelsea play Leicester in the EPL just days after meeting them in the FA Cup final.
Chelsea are very good and don't need anybody else to compete on any given Saturday, other than their current roster. Having said that, I think Haaland will cement their place in the UCL for the next 5 years, anyway. Buy one and done.
Well, whoscored gave him a 6.5 just behind Werner who got a 6.7. There might be a poster or two on this thread that questions that along with whoscored in general.
I would rate CP’s performance around 6.5 or 7. He had some nice runs with the ball and was involved in one of the goals and the creation of some other chances. On the other hand, he had at least two (likely more) very bad turnovers in Chelsea’s own half. I’m not a Werner hater, the kid works hard and I admire that but I had him at a Kicker 6 today.
Actually, I'm arguing that the idea you see something in the goal celebration is kinda stupid. I've seen players hug assistant coaches many times.
Football London gave Puli a six, which is just ok but not that great. https://www.football.london/chelsea-fc/fixtures-results/chelsea-player-ratings-man-city-20556629 Christensen was the worst for them with a 5. Puli, Werner and the subs got a 6. Everybody else, a 7, except for James and Alonso who got an 8. The Standard pretty much agrees with those ratings: https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/fo...ings-reece-james-werner-man-city-b934018.html 90 Minutes puts him and Christensen as the weakest of the lot (6), together with substitute Hudson-Odoi: https://www.90min.com/posts/manchester-city-1-2-chelsea-player-ratings