Christian Pulisic is in a bit of a form slump heading into the holidays with only one goal in his last 11 appearances. An inconsistent number of starts can be attributed to the poor form with only four of those 11 appearances being starts. Another issue comes in the form of a question. What position does Pulisic play?
If you asked this question to any Chelsea or USMNT fan back in 2020 they would immediately tell you he’s a winger. The only person who could get that question wrong in 2020 made an appearance on pawn stars.
The answer to what position does Pulisic play in 2021 isn’t so simple. In the 2021-22 season Pulisic has made 13 appearances. As of Dec. 23, only two of them have come as a winger. Both appearances at the winger position this season were as a substitute and combined for 37 minutes.
remember when christian pulisic was a winger
— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) December 22, 2021
The three positions Pulisic has played the most in the last two years are:
Winger
Attacking Midfielder
Center Forward
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel loves to tinker around with the formation and has employed Pulisic in an attacking midfielder position on plenty occasions. This attacking midfielder role is similar to when Pulisic played as a winger. Tuchel likes to put two attacking midfielders behind a striker or center forward.
The latest position Tuchel has put Pulisic in is Chelsea’s center forward and it simply doesn’t work. A lack of true strikers due to Covid and injuries can take a hefty amount of blame, but Tuchel has put Pulisic at the center forward position in the last three Chelsea games and it hasn’t paid dividends. The American isn’t effective, gets bullied off the ball by lofty center backs and just looks out of position.
Pulisic hasn’t been fantastic since his been back from injury but how many times has he played in his actual position? Think some of the criticism is a little unfair.
— Conn (@ConnCFC) December 20, 2021
Tuned in to watch Pulisic play for Chelsea. Watched him play striker for 15 minutes and turned it off.
I get Tuchel needs to play someone at striker, but his insistence to play Pulisic out of position more than anyone has gotten old.He’s not a wingback. He’s not a striker.
— MLS Buzz (@MLS_Buzz) December 22, 2021
Love seeing Christian Pulisic being played in a position where he is setup for success pic.twitter.com/alZwhAxURv
— MLS Buzz (@MLS_Buzz) December 19, 2021
Here’s the data to back up where Pulisic makes the biggest impact.
Christian Pulisic Stats Since 2020 By Position (As of Dec. 23, 2021)
Winger
Appearances: 42
Goals: 10
Assists: 6
Scoring Percentage: 23.8%
Assist Percentage: 14.2%
Attacking Midfielder
Appearances: 20
Goals: 5
Assists: 3
Scoring Percentage: 25%
Assist Percentage: 15%
Center Forward
Appearances: 7
Goals: 1
Assists: 1
Scoring Percentage: 14.2%
Assist Percentage: 14.2%
(These stats are across all competitions for club and country)
USMNT and Chelsea fans will be hoping that when Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner return to the Blues squad Pulisic won’t play as a center forward anymore.
