Christian Pulisic has a new role at Chelsea
Blues manager Graham Potter explained that the American excels as a ‘high, wide left’ of the attack after earning his first start over the weekend.
Christian Pulisic took advantage of earning his first start under manager Graham Potter in Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League last weekend. The United States international scored his first goal of the season across all competitions and reached a milestone of 20 in England’s top tier.
Potter decided to start Christian Pulisic as a left wing-back, meaning that he had to drop down to defend when they didn’t have the ball and had the freedom to push forward when they did. As Chelsea prepares for their UEFA Champions League match against AC Milan on Tuesday night, Potter explained where can the American excel more on the field.
Hybrid role for Christian Pulisic
“It’s understandable [Pulisic was nervous], he’s a human being,” said Potter. “He wants to play, wants to help. It’s about how you put the players on the pitch so it suits them. The role of Christian was a good one for him. It was high, wide left, he could attack the back line, and it was nice for him to score.”
This is the first time that Pulisic is being asked to focus on defending, because in the past with club and country, he had a prominent attacking role with the freedom to move all over the pitch. Now, Potter believes that as a ‘left wing-back’ he can concentrate the entire game with his duties to help the team on both sides of the pitch.