After making his Chelsea debut as a 65th-minute substitute against Kawasaki Frontale on Friday, Christian Pulisic was handed his first-ever Chelsea start Tuesday as the Blues defeated Barcelona 2-1 in Saitama, Japan.
Well, that wasn’t how the Christian Pulisic Chelsea debut was supposed to go.
Pulisic made his long-awaited debut with the Blues on Friday in Yokohama, Japan, coming on in the 65th minute against Kawasaki Frontale of the J-League. He then proceeded to pick up his first loss as a member of Chelsea, as Leandro Damião scored the lone goal in a 1-0 victory for the Japanese club.
True to his word, Christian Pulisic began training with Chelsea FC on Tuesday, July 16, just nine days after the USMNT’s defeat to Mexico in the Gold Cup final. His decision to join-up with the squad in lieu of an extended holiday break earned praise from Blues boss Frank Lampard, and he now has three full training sessions under his belt following today’s open practice in Yokohama, Japan.
If you don’t believe me, just look at his feet.
We still don’t know what number he’ll be wearing in Chelsea blue, but we now officially know what day 20-year-old American Christian Pulisic will be joining up with his new club: Tuesday, July 16 — just nine days after the USMNT’s defeat to Mexico in the Gold Cup final.
There may have been some doubt the last time the USMNT played competitive matches 20 months ago, but there is none now during the 2019 Gold Cup. Christian Pulisic is the USMNT’s best player, without question. He may just be the best player in all of Concacaf.
Pulisic, as he’s done all Gold Cup, played with fire, passion and purpose to help the U.S. defeat Jamaica 3-1 in the semifinals late Wednesday night and into Thursday morning in Nashville, Tennessee, after a 90-minute rain delay in the first half.
The USMNT advanced to the semifinals of the 2019 Gold Cup with a 1-0 victory over Curaçao, and it really was that close. A wonderful combination between Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie in the 25th minute proved to be the match-winner, and the U.S. had to rely on five saves from Zack Steffen to weather the storm from the tiny Dutch Caribbean island.
The opening 25 minutes of play had very little to due with what transpired over the final 65 — that opening period was really the only time the U.S. seemed to be in control.
Everyone knows that Christian Pulisic isn’t going to immediately step into Eden Hazard’s shoes at Chelsea and act as a carbon copy of the Belgian. Hazard, of course, is eight years older than Pulisic and currently much more decisive in the final third: Hazard hit 16 Premier League goals last campaign, the American tied his career best by reaching four in the Bundesliga.