Frank Lampard hailed the hunger and impact of USMNT star Christian Pulisic and revealed he is coaching him on timing his runs from midfield.
[ MORE: Pulisic Watch ]
Having the highest goalscoring midfielder in Premier League history to teach the art of timing your runs from midfield and into the box isn’t bad, right Christian?
[ MORE: Pulisic goal | Pulisic reacts ]
The 21-year-old American jumped off the bench in the 55th minute at Aston Villa with Chelsea 1-0 down. A few minutes later he made it 1-1 and then Olivier Giroud scored soon after to turn the game on its head and seal a big win for the Blues.
ASTON VILLA – CHELSEA FULL REPLAY
Pulisic last played in the Premier League on Jan. 1 due to an adductor injury and then the suspension, and seemed hungry to make up for lost time.
After the game ProSoccerTalk asked Lampard about Pulisic’s return and how big of a part he will play in the final weeks of the 2019-20 season after his lengthy injury absence.
“I hope so. He was hungry. I know that. I felt for him, as I’ve felt for the players with long-term injuries. Ruben is in the same position. I know Christian was very hungry. He’s trained well and the ability he has got to arrive in the box, it is a big thing I’ve spoken about with him about all season,” Lampard said.
“There is a difference between being a very good attacking player off the side or the players at the real top level of the game who arrive and score in the six yard box and hit big numbers yearly. I really think Christian can do that. I was really pleased with him and the impact he had when he came on. He will start games for us, of course, and I think he’s going to be a big player for us. Not just in this run-in but obviously going forward.”
Pulisic has now scored seven goals in his debut season for Chelsea and the American winger has become one of the go-to guys in their attack.
With Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner arriving for next season, he will have added competition for a starting spot but Pulisic is obviously highly-rated by Lampard. After a slow start to life at Chelsea, the penny dropped for Pulisic in the fall and despite his lengthy injury layoff, he’s returned sharper than ever.