Entering one week ago, Christian Pulisic had scored just one goal in Premier League play. He has since scored three goals in the last two league games for Chelsea. This follows up his man of the match performances in the FA Cup and the USA’s international friendly win over Northern Ireland. It’s clear that he’s turning the corner now.
Blues boss Thomas Tuchel said, entering Chelsea’s 4-1 rout at Crystal Palace today that the American can be a “huge weapon” for Chelsea, once he overcomes his hamstring problems, and the confidence issues they caused.
Tuchel also said Pulisic could be a “decisive factor” against Palace, and that certainly proved prescient. The 22-year-old also had a shot hit crossbar in midweek against FC Porto, so he came oh so close to scoring in three straight matches. For Chelsea, this was a huge response in the league, as they had lost their last league fixture 5-2, to West Brom.
“The first 20-30 minutes felt really strong from us. We were playing very aggressive and that drove us through the game,” Pulisic said after the match.
“There has been a lot of things going on this season but I will work hard to do my best in any way I can. I was happy I was able to do that today.”
Here below you can see the footage of Pulisic’s two goals today, the first being scored in 10′ and the second in the 78′.
PULISIC SMASHES IT! ? #MyPLMorning pic.twitter.com/xB2QSJjE8W
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) April 10, 2021
Christian Pulisic’s goal! (2-0)
An incredible start from Chelsea. #CRYCHE https://t.co/U00tiaHUXU
— LDN (@LDNFootbalI) April 10, 2021
Chelsea’s other two goals came from Kai Havertz and Kurt Zouma.
The “lot of things going on this season” Pulisic refers to all the injuries he’s battled, the decrease in playing time and the drop in form. He’s missed a lot of time this season due to a chronic hamstring injury, and you at times it appeared his in confidence dropped as well. Since mid-March however, he’s looked like himself again.
It appears his 20/21 season is set to finish on a very strong note as he’s currently on a nice upward trajectory. Over the course of this season, we’ve noticed a Pulisic related comedy bit that a few Twitter users seem to do on Chelsea matchdays. Below is one such example:
"Holy smokes bro my goal was so rad my dude. Like I just curled it into the net. But for realsies I can’t believe Havertz got his 2nd goal in the league this season homie, like I'm so extravagantly happy for him dude. Cool, calm and collected finish from my broski. Pulisic out" pic.twitter.com/jEpkUTTUEh
— – (@Harlzyy) April 10, 2021
It always involves the same photo, and the comedic routine centers around Pulisic speaking to the media in a very blunt manner, using slang that is a mix of Gen-Z/Zoomer, frat boy, millenial hip-hop fans and 1980s California surfer. Needless to say, he doesn’t actually speak like this in interviews, and when he talks to the press, he doesn’t use words like “tubular,” “for realsies,” and “rad.”
Honestly, no one, anywhere says “realsies” or “tubular” anymore, unless they’re joking. And “rad” is a word that kind of went away 5-15 years ago as well.
Here below is another example of this:
https://twitter.com/FaIseCF__/status/1380949055606509571
At first I found this joke to be unfunny and silly, but now every week it seems to grow on me that much more. It’s gotten to be kinda funny, in my opinion, and the more he scores, the funnier it gets. Like they say in all sports, winning cures everything, and the higher Pulisic performs, the funnier this joke gets.
Watch for it after the FC Porto Champions League clash in the middle of the week.
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.