Christian Pulisic put on a display of modern footballing excellence (handball!) in Chelsea’s 4-0 Champions League win over Krasnodar on Wednesday. Chelsea’s one-goal advantage was under siege when Pulisic entered the match in the 71st minute, but the American quickly smashed a shot into Alyaksandr Martynovich’s arm for a penalty, whiffed on an overhead kick, provided a hockey assist on Hakim Ziyech’s goal and finally scored one of his own.
It was 19 minutes of pure Pulisic Ball.
The anti-American threatened to deprive us of it by keeping the 22-year-old on the bench to start things, but Chelsea opened the scoring in the 37th minute after Callum Hudson-Odoi’s weak shot rolled over Matvei Safonov and into the net.
The second goal looked destined to be Krasnodar’s, but Pulisic’s introduction was quickly followed by a swiveling half-volley that resulted in a Timo Werner penalty.
Then, in the space of a couple minutes, Pulisic whiffed on an overhead kick before supplying Werner with a pass that then led to Ziyech’s finish.
Pulisic’s cameo wasn’t done there. After receiving a pass from Tammy Abraham with Krasnodar’s defense in shambles, Pulisic fired it inside the near post for his first goal of the season.
The 4-0 scoreline flattered Chelsea, but Pulisic is a blessing.
