Chelsea squad trains ahead of Southampton league clash
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard didn’t rate Christian Pulisic when he first took over at the club, it has been claimed. Pulisic found consistent game time hard to come by when he first joined the club.
Pulisic’s first season in the Premier League was hampered by injuries, after the American suffered an abductor muscle injury halfway through the campaign.
He had stretches of consistent game time in the league, but only managed two starts in his first seven games at the club.
After a hat-trick against Burnley in a 4-2 win, he emerged as one of Chelsea’s most potent attacking options, and Lampard started the youngster in the next seven games – before he suffered the muscle injury.
After the restart, he cemented his place in the starting line-up, making the left-wing position his own with four goals and four assists in The Blues’ final eight games.
Chelsea news: Rival manager explains problem Frank Lampard had with Christian Pulisic (Image: GETTY)
He started this season nursing a hamstring injury, but returned to start on the right against Southampton over the weekend.
It seems Lampard has earmarked the 22-year-old – who cost £57million while Maurizio Sarri was in charge – as one of his preferred options in attack.
However, RB Salzburg boss Jesse Marsch has claimed Lampard didn’t rate him when he first took over at Stamford Bridge, because of the perception of American stars.
Speaking to ExtraTime Radio, Marsch explained that the common perception of American players is that they aren’t as tactically capable of playing at the top level.
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He said: “The perception in Europe, mostly, is that the American player is willing to run, willing to fight, has good mentality, but technically they're not very gifted and tactically they're not very aware and their experiences aren't very big.
“But we're seeing that change. We're seeing more and more of these players develop themselves.
“Even Frank Lampard, when I spoke to him in pre-season a year ago now, I was talking to him about having Christian Pulisic and he was kind of like, ‘Yeah, he's got a lot to learn so we'll see how he does.’
“I said to him; ‘Listen, he was at Dortmund, and they had a high level of tactical thinking, of playing, and he was very successful.’
“I could see right away that Frank Lampard's idea of Christian Pulisic was shaped a lot by the fact that he was American and not that his football education came a lot from what has happened in Germany.
“Since then, I think Lampard has learned that Pulisic is a lot better than he gave him credit for.”
After Chelsea’s £250m spending spree, Pulisic found himself facing tougher competition for his spot in the starting XI, with the likes of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech all capable of playing in that position.
Initially, there were fears that the influx of attacking talent would make it harder for Pulisic to get a consistent run in the side.
Chelsea news: Rival manager explains problem Frank Lampard had with Christian Pulisic (Image: GETTY)
But speaking earlier this month, Lampard insisted that wouldn’t be the case, and backed the youngster dubbed ‘Captain America’ to bring out the best in his team-mates.
“I think they will all bring the best out of each other,” Lampard declared. “Of course, it is a shame that we have not had Hakim and Christian at this time of the season.
“Christian has been with us for a year so he doesn’t have that bedding in period that he had last year.”
Pulisic is expected to be involved tonight as Chelsea begin their Champions League campaign against Sevilla at Stamford Bridge.
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