Christian Pulisic has opened up on how former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel broke a promise to start him in a crucial Champions League match, which left him “dumbfounded.”
In the 2021 semi-final first leg tie at Real Madrid, Pulisic was the star for Chelsea. This result set up a memorable night at Stamford Bridge as the Blues secured their place in the championship game.
Pulisic, who was then benched for the second leg as Kai Havertz entered the Chelsea starting lineup, has accused Tuchel of misleading him in the lead-up to the match.
“What happened before that game was hugely disappointing for me,” Pulisic wrote in his autobiography My Journey So Far. “l’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 match day of the second semi, Tuchel tells me he’s changed his mind and he’s going with Kai.
“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.”
