The American striker has been trying to push himself in line since Frank Lampard left
Thomas Tuchel says Christian Pulisic was “unlucky” not to start for Chelsea, as the blues boss has full confidence in his former Borussia Dortmund player.
Chelsea have dominated since Tuchel took over from Frank Lampard in January, the latest triumph coming in a 2-0 win over Everton.
Under Tuchel, Chelsea are now undefeated in nine games, but Pulisic has contributed little, being left out of every Premier League starting line-up in Tuchel since hiring.
Tuchel on Pulisic
“I can’t say anything but good things about him. Maybe his biggest problem is that I know him from Dortmund and I think he only started in the cup games,” Tuchel told the post-game press conference.
“It’s my responsibility and it’s a bit unfair, but I know what impact it can have in the last 20 or 30 minutes.
“He was a bit unlucky in the last few games. It’s not a lack of trust or quality, it’s just that he will have to be patient.
“I have another guy I’d like to mention in Emerson [Palmieri] suffering from bad decisions from me. He doesn’t play, but he is an amazing guy who trains at the highest level and never leaves the team with his mentality. It was a very difficult decision today to remove him from the team, as was Tammy [Abraham].
“That’s right, we have a strong group. The boys have to keep fighting. There is no other way.”
Pulisic this season
After appearing as one of Chelsea’s stars after the resumption of last season, Pulisic tried to reproduce this campaign.
The star of the US men’s national team fought injuries to start this season and never really reached the peak of his debut season with 11 goals in London.
Pulisic has found the bottom of the net only twice in 24 appearances this season and has now dropped from the XI since Tuchel’s introduction.
Tuchel, who previously led Pulisic between 2016-17, while the two were at Borussia Dortmund, said he believes Pulisic deserves to start for Chelsea, but has not yet selected him as a Premier League starter.