https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2020/06/26/
christian-pulisic-on-a-confident-mindset-leading-to-a-big-three-
Pulisic on a confident mindset leading to a big three points and
finishing the season strongly
26 Jun 2020
After scoring in back-to-back games for the first time in his Chelsea
career, Christian Pulisic was understandably in good spirits in the
aftermath of our significant 2-1 victory over Manchester City at Stamford
Bridge.
https://i.imgur.com/G2OfJ3M.jpg
The American's most recent start had come on New Year's Day, with a
combination of a troublesome adductor injury and the global health
pandemic keeping him sidelined for a challenging six months.
However, he came off the bench to inspire our comeback win at Aston Villa
last weekend and was rewarded with a start against the reigning Premier
League champions, a title the 21-year-old's efforts ensured City could
not boast at the final whistle as Liverpool were finally mathematically
crowned league winners.
Frank Lampard claimed after the game that his plan had always been to use
the 21-year-old as an impact player in the Midlands before starting him
against Pep Guardiola's side and the plan worked perfectly as Pulisic
played a key role in inflicting defeat on the visitors.
'The most important thing was that we got the three points that we
desperately needed today,' Pulisic reflected at the end of the first-ever
competitive game behind closed doors in west London.
'We looked at this game against a big opponent and we wanted to win it. We
were at home, obviously in slightly different circumstances, but we're
happy that we came out and got a really good result.'
https://i.imgur.com/trhxHip.jpg
Pulisic steers in his eighth goal of the season to open the scoring
against City
A killer instinct is something Lampard has been eager for his young team to
develop this campaign and that ruthlessness was demonstrated in Pulisic's
goal. The forward charged forward to press the ball after a City free-kick
had been cleared and then exploited a defensive mix-up between Benjamin
Mendy and Ilkay Gundogan before motoring towards Ederson's goal.
His penultimate touch to set the ball up to strike was exquisite and the
stroked finish into the bottom far corner even more impressive. It was
Pulisic's seventh Premier League goal of this maiden season in English
football, the most of any player in the competition aged 21 or under.
'We have to capitalise on opportunities like that,' he explained. 'I had
another one in the second half as well [which was cleared off the line by
Kyle Walker] but I'm just happy to help the team out by scoring. We needed
it and we're just happy to get the three points.
'We went into the game with a really confident mindset to go out and win.
Obviously we want to finish the season strongly but we feel we're capable
of a lot more as well.'
https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/1276242920602034177
7 - Christian Pulisic has now scored seven @premierleague goals this
season, the most of any player in the competition aged 21 or under. Pond.
Pulisic also paid tribute to Liverpool, who were crowned Premier League
champions for the first time as a result of our victory over City, and
their manager Jurgen Klopp, his former boss at Borussia Dortmund.
'I wasn't thinking about them too much when I scored but of course they've
had a great season,' he continued. 'It's incredible how they've maintained
such a high level the whole season, continued to get close results and win
tight games. That's a credit to all their players and their manager –
they've done an incredible job.'
As football returned to the Bridge for the first time in 109 days, Pulisic
expressed his gratitude for the simple pleasure of being back out on the
pitch and looked ahead at targets for the final five weeks of the season.
'The break was tough on a lot of people but I'm just really happy that we
can come back and play football again,' he added. 'It's a bit different
without the fans but we're really excited to be back out there.
'There are a lot of games to play. We want to go as far as we can in the
FA Cup and we want to continue finishing strong so we can be secure in a
Champions League spot. We have a lot to play for.'