MY ACCOUNT
Christian Pulisic is relishing a “fresh start” at Chelsea and accepts he must now “prove himself” to new head coach Graham Potter.
The 24-year-old managed just one start across Chelsea’s opening seven matches of the season prior to Thomas Tuchel being sacked and replaced by Potter.
Pulisic was a second-half substitute in Potter’s only game so far – a 1-1 Champions League draw with Salzburg – before heading off for international duty with the United States.
After a frustrating time of things under Tuchel, Pulisic considers the arrival of former Brighton and Hove Albion boss Potter as a chance to kick-start his Stamford Bridge career.
“I’m feeling good going back, honestly,” he told reporters following USA’s 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
“I have a fresh start now, and I’m excited to play for the new manager. So I’m just looking forward to it. I just have to prove myself, as everyone does, and as I’ve done before.”
Pulisic played 76 minutes of the stalemate in Murcia – his longest outing for club or country this term – in what was USA’s final game before their World Cup campaign.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund winger did not look pleased at Gregg Berhalter’s decision to take him off, but he was ultimately happy to build up his fitness.
“I always want to be in the games,” Pulisic said of his reaction to being substituted.
“I was just trying to score goals and trying to win the game. But it’s good to get some minutes in and I feel healthy.”
USA failed to score in either of their friendlies this window, having also lost 2-0 to Japan, and Pulisic admits his side have to improve in certain attacking areas.
“There’s a lot of different ways to score goals, and I think there’s times where we can put more crosses in the box,” he said.
“We can be more aggressive and more relentless going forward. I think [against Saudi Arabia] we had glimpses of it, but just didn’t see it enough.”
