Chelsea's Christian Pulisic produced an excellent performance as he started at right-wing-back in the Blues' impressive Champions League win against red Bull Salzburg.
The USMNT winger produced an energetic performance in a position which he has not played at Chelsea. This was necessitated by the absence of Reece James and the Pennsylvania born winger may have laid down a marker for his future in the side as a wing-back.
His manager Graham Potter spoke about his performance after the match and the logic behind the decision. He said: “The idea, because of how Red Bull defend, they often give you the opposite space. So if you can get the ball out to someone good in one-vs-one situations, you can have an advantage potential. But also, it makes them stretch across the pitch and open up games in their very organised line. I worked quite well today and I’m pleased for the boys.”
READ MORE: Four things learned from Chelsea's win vs FC Salzburg as Graham Potter proves Mason Mount point
Here, we take a look at all the reaction to his performance.
USMNT fans see Pulisic's role as crucial to Chelsea
With the World Cup just around the corner, USMNT fans will be forgiven for viewing Pulisic's role through the lens of the upcoming tournament. This has been reflected by the reaction of those on Twitter, with some viewing his showing as a wing-back as irrelevant to his left-wing role for the national side while others say that the performance is the most important thing.
One user 'pragidealist29' pointed out the correlation between Pulisic's upturn in form and its correlation to the rest of the Chelsea team. This was countered by 'ShermEstes' who argued that his value to the USMNT can only be valued as a left-winger.
There was also reaction in the form of the perception of Pulisic in the eyes of Chelsea fans and the passionate defence of the USMNT star from the American public:
With such a huge star representing the USMNT on the world stage, there is sure to be lots of differing viewpoints on his role and what it means for his country. However, it looks as though last night's performance has been received positively.
Carragher advises Pulisic to follow in Werner's footsteps
Jamie Carragher was on pundit duty for CBS Sports on Tuesday night, and the former Liverpool Champions League winner suggested that Pulisic's performance should suggest that his future may lay elsewhere having shown his quality.
Carragher was alongside Thierry henry and Micah Richards for the coverage on the US network, making the claim that Pulisic should follow the lead of Timo Werner and pursue an opportunity away from West London in the best interests of his career.
The pundit explained when asked whether he should make a move, saying: “One hundred per cent. A lot of footballers are different. I do scratch my head when I see certain players at clubs for a long time and they never really get into the team.
“And that’s why I think Thierry [Henry] is saying he respects Timo Werner. Rather than just sitting on the bench another year or two he’s gone back to somewhere where he’s going to play week in, week out. And I just think Pulisic is sort of at that stage now where there’s been a few managerial changes.
“It looks like he’s getting more of a chance with Potter, but not just him, I think Graham Potter is a manager who changes it every game so everyone is getting a chance. So he may feel like he’s getting more of an opportunity to prove to the manager he can be in that recognised 11.
“But he’s been there a few years now, it hasn’t quite happened for him for whatever reason, and maybe Dortmund is a level down from Chelsea, who are a team who are trying to win the Champions League – we know Pulisic was part of that win. But eventually you have to make that decision. I don’t think you can continue to be in that position that he’s been in for the last two or three years.”
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