Chelsea’s Christian Pulsiic was in action yesterday during an important World Cup qualifier for the United States, with his performance prompting a mixed bag of responses from his nation’s media.
The US ended up with a 0-0 draw away to Mexico on Thursday, so they still have it in their hands to qualify for this year’s World Cup in the final two group matches.
Aged 23, Pulisic’s already a senior member on the international stage for his country.
The Blues attacker has been a talisman for the US for several years since a breakthrough at a young age and is only four matches short of 50 senior caps.
Unfortunately, he missed a golden chance against Mexico when he fired his shot from inside the box straight at the opposition goalkeeper.
NBC Sports’ two writers gave Pulisic a match rating of 6 and 5.5 respectively, as well as a breakdown of his performance in the goalless draw with Mexico:
“Pulisic had the first half’s best scoring chance in the 35th minute, but he somehow managed to put his shot in the one spot on the planet where Memo Ochoa could save it. It’s hard to look past that moment, given the quality of the chance and the rest of the USMNT’s performance. He had another half-chance to start the second and forced Ochoa to make a (slightly) more difficult save,” NBC wrote.
“Drew a couple of fouls in dangerous places but was a non-factor for too long of a stretch given his status. The missed point-blank shot would’ve been a fitting, “Now we’re back” moment for a player who’s become the ultimate thorn in El Tri sides. Instead, it stands as a huge miss.”
In addition, CBS Sports rated Pulisic’s midweek performance a 7/10, with some mixed comments on his contribution:
“Not at his sharpest on the night Pulisic spent most of the match isolated and on his two shots on target, Ochoa was there to deny him. On another day he at least has a goal from a point-blank first half chance, but not Thursday,” CBS wrote.
Pulisic frustrates some Chelsea fans
Honestly, the quick forward is someone that can annoy you because on his day he’s unplayable.
He’s shown during spells of his Chelsea career so far at Stamford Bridge that he can be a key player, but an injury or drop in form usually hits when he’s playing his best.
There has definitely been some encouraging performances from him in the past couple of months. If he continues like this, he can nail down a regular spot in Thomas Tuchel’s XI.
The immense pressure on his shoulders with the national side has forced him to mature quicker than most, and let’s hope he can really string together an extended purple patch of form.
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