For the first time since January 16, Chelsea have both won a Premier League fixture and scored a goal in one. (Although that makes natural sense, as you would need to score in order to win!) When Cesar Azpilcueta put the ball in the net at the 40′, it ended a 254 minute scoreless in league play stretch for the Blues.
It put Chelsea up 1-0 on Burnley, and in the second half, Christian Pulisic came on, where he had a sublime set-up for Marcos Alonso, who sent it home and clinched the three points. Have a look below:
Christian Pulisic gets the assist on Marcos Alonso’s exquisite finish to cap Chelsea’s first win under Thomas Tuchel #CFC #USMNT
(via @NBCSportsSoccer)pic.twitter.com/Sji2BAoFYg
— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) January 31, 2021
An absolutely stunning entry pass by the American, over to the Spaniard, who received off his chest, and was able to execute an excellent turn around, almost bicyle style kick which showcased phenomenal balance and composure. So noth goals came from the back line today for Chelsea, who moved up to 7th in the table with the win.
For Pulisic this was his first assist in league play this season. He also only has one league goal so far this term. In the League Cup he’s registered one assist and in Champions League play he’s scored one goal in 20-21.
So across the board he has just two goals and two assists this term.
Hopefully, today is start of something better for him, and maybe this is the spark that will ignite his full potential. The 22-year-old didn’t get started until Oct 3rd this year, on account of a hamstring injury suffered against Arsenal on August in the FA Cup final.
He then got re-injured in the Burnley reverse fixture on Halloween, during the warm-ups. But now fully fit, and working under a manager who knows him well, from previous experience, in Thomas Tuchel, maybe now the turnaround begins.
Up next is massive league fixture against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night, so maybe Pulisic can play a bigger role in that match and quite possibly add more to the score sheet.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.