Cursed or careless? Why USMNT superstar Christian Pulisic failed at Chelsea

During an appearance on former United States international Jermaine Jones' podcast 13&ME in May 2020, Pulisic opened up on his first day at Chelsea. He finally joined up with his new team-mates in July 2019, after being loaned back to Dortmund for six months.

“The team had already started pre-season in Japan so I flew straight there and I had to literally fly by myself and then meet the team who had flown from London," he said. “I had to go straight to the hotel and the next thing on the schedule was to go straight to training. I was tired, nervous and didn't know what to think but, ‘I'm at Chelsea and this is insane’.

“I got on the bus, they had just arrived as well. Everyone is half-asleep, I go and sit on the bus and nobody even noticed me. Nobody said anything. There were maybe one or two guys who said ‘hey, hello’ and I was like, ‘what's going on here?’"

Pulisic added: "Those first couple of days of training I was nervous. You know what it's like when you move to a new team. They're nice guys off the field, but to earn that respect you have to show on the field you have that ability, that's just how it is."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the American made a slow start to life at Stamford Bridge. Lampard handed Pulisic his full debut in a 4-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford, and he kept his spot for subsequent August matches against Leicester, Norwich and Sheffield United.

Pulisic then found himself dropped to the bench throughout September, and didn't start again until an away clash with Burnley on October 26. But the rest served him well.

Chelsea ran out 4-2 winners at Turf Moor, and Pulisic scored a 'perfect' hat-trick by netting with left foot, right foot, and headed attempts. It was a stunning performance that showed exactly why the Blues had made such a huge investment in his services.

Pulisic became the first American player to score for Chelsea that day, and the youngest man to ever score a treble for the club at 21 years and 38 days old. He followed it up in style too, scoring in subsequent wins against Watford and Crystal Palace.

But the former Dortmund star was unable to sustain that form, and he suffered a tear to his abductor muscle in the new year that kept him out of action for the best part of six months - including the Covid-19 enforced break in the season.

To Pulisic's credit, he returned with a spring in his step, and recorded eight goal contributions in his final nine appearances of the campaign, including a sublime individual effort against Manchester City. There was genuine optimism among supporters that he could go on to become a key player in 2020-21 as a result - as comparisons were made with Chelsea hero Eden Hazard - but he would never hit the same heights again.

Pulisic's second season with the Blues didn't start well as the cracks in Lampard's system became more and more apparent. By the end of January, Chelsea had dropped to ninth in the Premier League and Pulisic had just one goal to his name.

Roman Abramovich took the "very difficult decision" to relieve the club legend of his managerial duties, and Thomas Tuchel was on hand to replace Lampard after leaving Paris Saint-Germain a month earlier. Tuchel won two Ligue 1 titles at PSG and took them to a maiden Champions League final, after being snapped up from Dortmund in 2017.

Tuchel brought genuine pedigree back to the Stamford Bridge dugout after the failed Lampard experiment, and it also looked like good news for Pulisic at the time. The pair had previously worked together at Dortmund, with Pulisic fast-tracked into the senior set-up under the German.

But it quickly became clear that he would not enjoy the same favour with Tuchel at Chelsea. During his first two months at the helm, Pulisic didn't start a single Premier League game.

"Maybe his biggest problem is that I know him from Dortmund and I think he started only in the cup games," Tuchel told reporters when asked to explain Pulisic's reduced role. "It is my responsibility and it is a bit unfair but I know what impact he can have in the last 20 or 30 minutes."

Pulisic did his utmost to maximise his time on the pitch, and ended up playing a key role in Chelsea's unlikely run to Champions League glory. He scored the Blues' only goal in the first leg of their semi-final tie against Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu to secure a 1-1 draw, and then provided the assist for Mason Mount to wrap up a 2-0 victory in the return.

Chelsea clinched Europe's ultimate prize after a 1-0 victory over Manchester City in the final, with Pulisic impressing after coming on as a 66th-minute substitute. He became only the second American player in history to lift the trophy in the process, but the joy of that night in Porto wouldn't last for long.

The winger made some explosive revelations in his biography, 'Christian Pulisic: My Journey So Far', a year later - which took some of the gloss off his European success with Chelsea. Pulisic criticised Tuchel for not starting him in the second leg against Real, writing: "I’d had a really good first leg performance and our following match was against Fulham in the league. 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.

"Then on matchday 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. 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."

Pulisic's criticism of Tuchel came after the manager had been ruthlessly sacked by Chelsea in September 2022. But his frustration had been steadily rising throughout the German tactician's final season in charge.

Chelsea opened their 2021-22 campaign with a 3-0 win against Crystal Palace, with Pulisic getting his name on the scoresheet. But he tested positive for Covid a week later, and then sustained an ankle injury which kept him out of action until November.

Pulisic would go on to play his part in the club's FIFA Club World Cup success and made 38 appearances across all competitions by the end of the campaign, but only half of those came as a starter. And his father couldn't resist speaking out on social media.

Mark Pulisic said of his son's situation in May: “The sad thing is he loves the club, team-mates, and London... puts his heart and soul into being a pro." Tuchel's response was typically ruthless.

“I am not concerned if the player's father says he does not love me [on Twitter],” said the German. "As ever, we have our reasons to choose our line-up and at this level, you will never see happy faces when not selected. Am I always right? For sure not. Is it always fair? For sure not. But this is what you sign up for in a club like Chelsea."

Pulisic was strongly linked with a transfer that summer, but Tuchel also insisted that he had "zero problems" with the U.S. captain, and made sure that he stayed put for the 2022-23 campaign.

He still had to be content with a place on the bench, though, despite Chelsea starting the season with only three wins out of seven in all competitions, and it surely would have come as a relief when the club's new Todd Boehly-led ownership group cut ties with Tuchel. United States manager Greg Berhalter suggested as much when reacting to the German's departure.

"I'm not happy that a guy has lost his job," he said. "But if this means more opportunity for Christian, then it’s positive because he’s a guy that’s proven that he can perform at that level. We’ll just have to wait and see."

Brighton boss Graham Potter was the man chosen to succeed Tuchel, but the managerial change didn't work in the favour of the USMNT. Pulisic's decline was destined to continue, along with Chelsea's.

“I’m feeling good going back, honestly. I have a fresh start now, and I’m excited to play for the new manager," Pulisic told ESPN after Potter's appointment. "So really just looking forward to it. I just have to prove myself, as everyone does, and as I’ve done before."

He backed up those words by scoring on his first start under the new manager in a 3-0 win against Wolves, but was dropped to the bench for Chelsea's next three matches. It quickly became apparent that Potter saw Pulisic in a similar light to Tuchel in terms of his value to the team.

Former United States international Eric Wynalda even went so far as to assess Potter's body language around Pulisic, and came to an outrageous conclusion. "Bottom line is, Graham Potter doesn’t like him," Wynalda told Vegas Insider. "He just doesn’t like him. He’s the one player that if he’s coming down the hallway, he’s looking for the side door. He doesn’t want to talk to him. He doesn’t want to look at him and nobody will admit that."

The mid-season World Cup break came at the perfect time for Pulisic, and as always, he was a different player for his country. The U.S reached the last16 for the first time since 2020, finishing second in Group B behind England.

Their journey ended at the hands of the Netherlands, but Pulisic and the rest of the squad gave a good account of themselves in Qatar. The Chelsea star recorded a goal and two assists in four appearances, and notably gave England's defence the run-around as the U.S. held Gareth Southgate's side to a 0-0 draw in the group stage.

But any hope he had of transferring that momentum to club level at Chelsea was dashed when he picked up a knee complaint during a 1-0 loss to Manchester City on January 6. Pulisic spent the next two months on the sidelines and there were several players ahead of him in the pecking order upon his return as a result of Chelsea's £300m (£282m) spend in the January window.

Potter was sacked at the start of April with the Blues languishing down in 11th in the Premier League, and Pulisic's reaction was telling. "It's a tough situation for a lot of people," he said. "A lot of stuff has been changing in general at the club this year, and now with the manager out it's another new challenge."

Unsurprisingly, Pulisic did not rise to that challenge.

Chelsea brought Lampard back to the club to steady the ship on an interim basis, but he could do nothing to prevent it from sinking. The honeymoon period barely lasted a week for Lampard as the Blues lost back-to-back games against Wolves and Brighton.

Pulisic was hauled off after 56 minutes against the Seagulls after a woeful display, and was rightly punished further by Lampard. The American was an unused substitute in Chelsea's next three games, including both legs of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid.

Real made light work of the Blues in a 4-0 aggregate thumping, effectively ending their season. Lampard's men then succumbed to three more humiliating defeats against Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United on their way to their worst-ever Premier League finish.

Pulisic only played 33 minutes across Chelsea's last six games, which naturally only fuelled the intense speculation over his future. He still has one year left on his contract at Stamford Bridge, but a parting of ways is now in the best interests of all parties concerned.

"He's a super talented footballer," former Chelsea winger Joe Cole told GOAL in May. "He's won the Champions League with Chelsea and he played a big part by scoring important goals. I feel sorry for Christian with the amount of injuries he's got. It's really stopped his development. I think he needs to find his happiness again."

It's true that niggling fitness problems have hampered Pulisic at Chelsea. He's missed 53 games due to injury during his time at the club, which averages out at 13 per season. A large portion of his 145 appearances in the famous blue shirt have come as a substitute because he has rarely been available for prolonged periods. Every time Pulisic has taken a step forward, a new issue pops up to knock him back down to earth.

He has been cursed with back luck, but it could also be argued that he hasn't done enough to make sure that his body holds up to the rigorous demands of Premier League football. And after four up-and-down seasons, he's run out of chances.

"The last couple of years just haven't gone at all how I planned it to be," Pulisic told reporters after linking back up with the U.S. men's national team for the CONCACAF Nations League last month. "This summer, we are obviously going see what happens. It's obviously very early. As of right now, I'm a Chelsea player and I'm planning to go back, but a lot of things can happen and a lot of things can change."

Pulisic knows deep down that it's time for him to leave Chelsea. Pochettino is in the process of trimming the bloated squad he inherited from Potter, and it would be a huge surprise if Pulisic doesn't follow the likes of Havertz, Mason Mount, N'Golo Kante and Kalidou Koulibaly out of the club.

Chelsea supporters have only seen the full palette of Pulisic's abilities in sporadic bursts. He's a dynamic, agile winger who boasts plenty of pace, and he's equally comfortable cutting in from both the left and right flank - which makes him a useful asset.

But it does appear that he lacks self-belief, on the club stage at least. Pulisic has enjoyed some great highs at Chelsea, but the lows have kept him down. The Blues don't need players who feel sorry for themselves when the going gets tough. Pulisic hasn't shown the mental fortitude required to leave a lasting legacy at Stamford Bridge.

If he does indeed move on to new pastures, Pulisic will do so with Champions League, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup winners' medals. He also has 26 goals and 21 assists to his name for Chelsea, which is a respectable return considering how much he has been used as a substitute.

But few fans will be sad to see the back of him. Pulisic needs a proper clean slate to rebuild his confidence and reputation - and Milan could provide that. Giroud is certainly excited by the prospect of a reunion with his old colleague. "My understanding on the pitch with him was top, a bit like Eden [Hazard], even if I played less with Christian," the Milan striker told Morning Footy earlier this year. "He's that kind of player who is very skillful. He can dribble, play the one-two. He knew how to use me on the pitch and vice versa. We had good times together and I hope he can get rid of the injuries, get better and get more consistency and more games because he's a very, very talented player."

Pressed further on whether Pulisic would be a good fit for the Rossoneri, Giroud replied: "I think people here would love it. It's definitely a big name in Europe, so he would help us."

Pulisic still has the prime years of his career ahead of him, but wasting more time at Chelsea doesn't benefit him or anyone else at the club. The Blues would be wise to cash in now and avoid losing him for nothing in 12 months' time.

The USMNT's poster boy hasn't been happy for a long time, and a switch to San Siro represents a great opportunity for him to rediscover his joy for the game. The truth is, Chelsea and Pulisic were never the right match.