Christian Pulisic says Tuchel disappopinted him
Prior to the Champions League semifinal match against Real Madrid in the 2020–21 season, Christian Pulisic says he was perplexed by previous Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel’s choice.
In his recently released book, Christian Pulisic: My Journey So Far, he discusses what transpired before the pivotal semifinal game. Having previously worked with Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund, the American star had a close relationship with him, but things weren’t nearly as well at Chelsea.
Now that the semi-final encounter against Real Madrid has passed, Pulisic has discussed what transpired in the lead-up to that game, acknowledging that he was meant to start but didn’t.
“l’d had a really good first leg performance and our following match was against Fulham in the league,” Pulisic wrote in the book about the match.
“Tuchel told me that he was resting me for the second leg and as a result I didn’t play a single minute in the Fulham game.”
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Pulisic then continued: “Then on match day of the second semi, Tuchel tells me he’s changed his mind and he’s going with Kai [Havertz]. I honestly was dumbfounded and very disappointed.
Opening up on his goal against Real Madrid in the 2020/21 Champions League semi-finals, he said: “As I take off on the run, I hear Tuchel yelling from the sideline, ‘Christian, stay in the pocket, don’t make the run!’ But I just had the feeling I’d find the space and get on the end of the pass, so I continued the run.
“I thought that I’d earned a start and, most importantly, he had assured me previously I was going to start. So by the time he brought me on with about 25 minutes left, I was just so wound up.”
Chelsea ultimately won the game and the tie, advancing them to the Champions League final, where they defeated Manchester City and won their second Champions League trophy.
Tuchel ultimately stayed for one additional season, adding the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup to his resume at Chelsea, until being fired earlier this season by the new ownership group, led by Todd Boehly. Graham Potter took his position, and Pulisic will be hoping for better results under him after earlier in the summer there were rumors of him wanting to leave the team.
