Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel expressed his delight after Christian Pulisic scored off the bench against Leicester City in the Premier League.
The United States international has missed the vast part of the ongoing season with an ankle problem, but he has recently featured as a substitute.
Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech were brought onto the pitch after the hour mark yesterday when the Blues were leading 2-0. The duo combined for the third goal.
Ziyech put the ball on the plate for Pulisic to convert from close range. Moments before that, Ziyech had created another chance for Pulisic that went wide.
Speaking after the 3-0 triumph, Tuchel highlighted Pulisic’s special quality of arriving late in the box to put himself in excellent scoring positions.
He said via Chelseafc.com: “It’s one of Christian’s key qualities, to arrive exactly like that, not only in the box but also in the six-yard box. This is a top quality from him.”
“He gives something of course in terms of sprints, repetitive sprints, intensity on and off the ball, but in the end of the attacks he is hungry to score, he arrives in the box and this is where we need players also, to be dangerous and to score.
“I’m very happy that, after a long time when he suffered from Coronavirus and injury, that he is back and decisive straight away.”
Pulisic started the campaign brilliantly with a goal against Crystal Palace at home, but was sidelined for the next two games due to coronavirus.
The 23-year-old then suffered an ankle injury on international duty. He was initially expected to return to action in early October before another setback.
He now appears back to his best after an extended absence from first-team action, and will be aiming to break into the starting line-up in the coming games.
Mason Mount and Kai Havertz struggled to make an impact on Saturday. The Blues looked a different attacking outfit after Pulisic and Ziyech were introduced.
Tuchel has made shrewd decisions in the past, and he won’t think twice in making changes to the line-up if the current XI don’t leave up to his expectations.
The Blues registered a comfortable 3-0 win at the King Power Stadium yesterday. They could have quite easily doubled their tally if not for the offside decisions.
They are now four points ahead at the top of the league standings, but the lead could be reduced to three if Manchester City get the better of Everton today.
Still, the west London giants are in a solid position up front, and will go into next weekend’s game against Manchester United with the momentum on their side.
The Red Devils recently slumped to a fifth defeat in seven league games. The Blues have not fared well against United of late, but should fancy three points this time.
