Thomas Tuchel has outlined why Christian Pulisic has struggled for starting minutes since helping the USMNT qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, after the Chelsea forward's superb heroics against West Ham.
The forward struck in the 90th minute to snatch a 1-0 win over David Moyes' side late on at Stamford Bridge, with his first goal for the club since last month's Champions League Round of 16 win over Lille.
Since coming back from international duty, he has been relatively starved for minutes and struggled on the pitch, and now his coach has explained why he has been on the bench more often than not.
What did Tuchel say on lack of starting role for Pulisic?
Pulisic's late winner at the Bridge on Sunday had the American back in the forefront of Chelsea minds, but Thomas Tuchel believes that his international service is harming his club form.
GOAL BY PULISIC!
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) April 24, 2022
Christian Pulisic comes off the bench and scores a go-ahead goal LATE in the match for Chelsea!
📺: @USA_Network #CHEWHU | #MyPLMorning pic.twitter.com/2G8dVnFU1v
“If you ask him he would say it was not a good idea,” Tuchel told his post-match press conference regarding Pulisic's international duty. “It is like this, especially with the strikers. He has a period when he was on the run, when he had the confidence and he was heavily involved up front and Timo [Werner] had to wait for many, many weeks."
Tuchel believes the immense amount of travel required for CONCACAF play has taken a toll on Pulisic's body and mind.
"Now things turned around a little bit from the Southampton game," Tuchel continued. "Puli struggled a little bit since he came back from international break. Where I think he had three matches and incredible amount of journeys and time zones to cope with. From there he struggled a bit energy wise, that was my impression on and off the pitch. Sometimes it is like this.
“We tried to bring him back to full confidence from the bench and I’m happy with the effort today and I’m very happy that he had the chance to have this huge impact together with Romelu [Lukaku] and Hakim [Ziyech]. This is super important.”
What has Pulisic done since returning from USMNT duty?
Since helping his nation book their spot at Qatar, Pulisic has mustered just one start for the club - in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid, when Chelsea were on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline.
That has seen his action limited to minutes picked up off the bench, with the forward drawing a blank in the return leg against Los Blancos, plus against Southampton. It hasn't been undeserved, as Pulisic has played quite poorly since the international break.
Christian Pulisic was not good against Real Madrid today #CHERMA #USMNT
— Kyle Bonn (@the_bonnfire) April 6, 2022
40 touches, lost possession 10 times, won just 1 of his 5 ground duels (1/2 dribbles), 0 key passes, 0 fouls won, 2 off-target shots.
Subbed off after 62 minutes.
However, he has now put himself back on the scoresheet with his late heroics against the Hammers.
What did Pulisic say about his lack of game time for Chelsea?
After proving his worth as a substitute against West Ham, Pulisic hopes he has done enough to convince his manager that he should be used from the start in upcoming fixtures.
He told reporters, “It was a massive goal. We had so much pressure on them for most of the game but we couldn’t get that breakthrough, so I am happy I was able to help out.
“I always want to be on the pitch, to help my team and I am glad I got the opportunity today. We played a good match and we got our deserved goal in the end. I needed to come in and make a difference, prove I want to be playing and I am happy I did that.”
