American striker Christian Pulisic claims former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel lied to him about starting a big game. In an excerpt from his upcoming book Christian Pulisic: My Journey So Far, the USMNT star said Tuchel promised him a start in the second leg of the 2020/21 Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.
Pulisic was in the starting eleven of the first leg against the Spanish and scored. After the match, Tuchel apparently told Pulisic that he would start him again for the second leg. This, however, was not the case. The German Tuchel left Christian Pulisic on the bench.
“What happened before that game was very disappointing to me,” Pulisic said in the book. “I had a very good performance in the first leg and our next game was against Fulham in the league. Tuchel told me he was giving me rest for the second leg and as a result I didn’t play a single minute in the Fulham game.”
“Then, on the day of the second semi-final match, Tuchel tells me that he changed his mind and leaves with Kai. [Havertz]. I was honestly shocked and very disappointed. I thought I had earned a start and, most importantly, he had previously assured me that he was going to start. So when he brought me in with about 25 minutes to go, I was very nervous.”
Pulisic entered the game as a late substitute and provided an assist for Mason Mount less than 20 minutes later. Chelsea won the game 2-0 and the semi-final 3-1 on aggregate.
Christian Pulisic and Tuchel lost relationship
Perhaps one of the reasons for the snub was the fact that Pulisic ignored Tuchel’s instructions in the first leg. However, the American’s rebellious moment actually created his target. “The untold story behind that goal is that when [Antonio] Rüdiger has the ball, I can see he is looking to play it long up top and I started my run to get behind Madrid’s baseline,” Pulisic said.
“But as I start to run, I hear Thomas Tuchel yelling from the side, ‘Christian, stay in the pocket, don’t run!’ But, I had a feeling he would find the space and get to the end of the pass. So, I continued the race.”
Chelsea eventually won the Champions League trophy that year, but there was tension between player and manager. Despite public claims that their relationship was fine, Pulisic and his father clearly showed clear frustration.
Chelsea sacked Tuchel earlier this month. In his replacement Graham Potter’s only game, Pulisic came on as a late substitute.
PHOTO: Imago / Sportimage
