Christian Pulisic did not get a chance to start the UEFA Champions League final against Manchester City after helping his team reach the final stage: Manager Thomas Tuchel kept him out of the starting lineup. The 22-year-old American instead came off the bench and helped his team pull off the upset in a 1-0 win.
Had he started, Pulisic would have been the first U.S. men's national team player to start in a UEFA Champions League final, considered the biggest stage in the world when it comes to club soccer.
Pulisic made history by eventually coming on in the 66th minute for Timo Werner with Chelsea up 1-0 and he had a golden chance to ice the game, but he narrowly missed the target. He became the first American man to play and win a Champions League final.
During the pregame, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel explained his decision to leave Pulisic out:
“Tough choice to leave him out, but very strong from the bench,” Tuchel said. “I have to choose from 23 [players] a starting XI, but we need 15 or 16 [players] to finish this game, hopefully in a positive way. I hope we start strong and we finish stronger."
Why did Pulisic not start the Champions League final?
Pulisic has been in and out of the starting lineup under Tuchel since the German manager took over from Frank Lampard in late January. In 26 competitive matches, Tuchel, who knows Pulisic well from their days together at German club Borussia Dortmund, has opted to start Pulisic in 13 of them. He came off the bench in the other 13, including Saturday's final.
But Pulisic hasn’t been entirely happy with the situation. After the second leg of the Champions League semifinal series against Real Madrid, a match in which he came off the bench, Pulisic did not hide his discontent.
"Very frustrated," he said. "Um, yeah. There's not much else to say. I wanted to play from the beginning, as I always do. I've had to continue to prove myself, over and over again. But, as always I just reach out to God, and he gives me strength. With that behind me, nothing can stop me, really."
The U.S. star was a big reason Chelsea reached the final, contributing a goal and an assist in the two-leg semifinal series against Real Madrid. He started the first match in that series and came off the bench for the second.
MORE: The case for Pulisic to start the Champions League final
As one of the most expensive, star-studded squads in the world, Chelsea clearly have plenty of attacking talents on its roster. All of them bring different qualities to the game, giving Tuchel several tactical options, depending on the challenges a game might present.
The Chelsea manager has rotated the likes of German attacker Kai Havertz ($82 million transfer fee), Moroccan star Hakim Ziyech ($43 million transfer fee), academy product Mason Mount and Pulisic ($73 million transfer fee) in the attacking positions alongside center forward Timo Werner. But when it comes to the UEFA Champions League, Pulisic has shown he’s a big-game player. The graphic below tells the story:
Ziyech and Pulisic were the odd ones out for the final and it turned out to be the right decision for Tuchel. Havertz got the nod to partner German compatriot Timo Werner and Mason Mount in the attack. It was Mount who fed Havertz for the only goal of the final in the 42nd minute.
While Pulisic has had to overcome niggling injuries along the way — and that could have been a good reason for Tuchel to manage his minutes in past games — it obviously was not a factor in the final game of the club season before the summer break.
Pulisic as a spark off the bench
As Tuchel himself mentioned in the pregame, he believes Pulisic can change the game with his pace and skill off the bench.
Pulisic is strong at beating defenders 1-on-1 and exposing gaps in opposing defenses. With Chelsea taking a lead in the game, Tuchel brought him on for the final 20 minutes against tiring defenders and a Manchester City team pushing for an equalizing goal. That Pulisic can impact a match off the bench is a facet of his game that has caught the eye of observers, including Belgian national team manager Roberto Martinez:
"Christian Pulisic is one of the very few players that can be really strong as a starter or as a substitute,” Martinez said in a conference call prior to the Champions League final. “In the two games against Real Madrid, in the first leg he starts and makes a difference. And in the second leg he comes on as a substitute and he's got that incredible intelligence to adapt to the role. You don't get that many players like that."
Why it matters for Pulisic to play Champions League final
Pulisic's appearance in the game was a big deal. No male U.S. national team player had ever appeared in the UEFA Champions League final. It's a sign of the quality of player development in the United States that an American can compete on the biggest stage.
Pulisic is on his way to becoming the best male American player in the history of the game. He’s the most expensive U.S. player ever, after Chelsea forked over $73 million to sign him from German club Borussia Dortmund in 2019. He was only 20 years old at the time.
MORE: U.S. soccer pioneers on why Pulisic appearing in the final is a big deal
He’s clearly the biggest U.S. men’s soccer star today and has accumulated 36 appearances and 15 goals for the U.S. men’s national team. He’ll be a major contributor if the USMNT are to advance to the 2022 FIFA World Cup next year in Qatar.
An American was always guaranteed to win Saturday's Champions League final with Pulisic facing off against Manchester City backup goalkeeper Zack Steffen, his teammate on the U.S. national team.
There was only one American male player who won a UEFA Champions League medal before Pulisic, and that was former U.S. national teamer Jovan Kirovski, who earned it playing in the group stage for Borussia Dortmund back in 1997. Nine American women have previously featured in the UEFA Champions League final.
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