“Like a Sunday league footballer”, “sell him in the summer” – Chelsea fans furious with Blues player branded as ‘fraud’ after 1-1 draw with Leicester
Chelsea fans have slammed the performance of forward Christian Pulisic in the 1-1 draw against Leicester City in their penultimate Premier League game of the season on May 19. The Blues limped to a 1-1 draw against to all but secure third place in the table. However, as per fans, the American's efforts left a lot to be desired.
The Blues fell behind within six minutes when James Maddison curled a spectacular effort past Edouard Mendy. Marcos Alonso then equalized later in the first half with a good volley off a Reece James cross.
Chelsea dominated the second half and had numerous chances to seal the victory. However, they couldn't find the breakthrough despite restricting Leicester to just two shots throughout the entire 90 minutes. In comparison, the Blues made 20 attempts.
1-1 🦊 | #CheLei
Honours even.
🔵 1-1 🦊 | #CheLei https://t.co/b8c3rMTg94
Chelsea played 120 minutes + penalties in their FA Cup final defeat against Liverpool on May 14. Despite that, Tuchel made just two changes to his lineup against Leicester due to which the team appeared leggy throughout the contest at Stamford Bridge.
Still, they managed to create many chances throughout the game. Christian Pulisic had, by some way, the best chance of grabbing a winner for the hosts. However, he sliced wide from eight yards out with the goal seemingly at his mercy.
The American forward has scored just eight times in 38 appearances this term and has failed to find the net in six of his last eight league games.
Following the 23-year-old's horror miss at the Bridge, Chelsea fans took to Twitter to criticize Pulisic, who supporters feel has had enough chances. Here are some of their reactions:
This pulisic guy is a waste of space 🤦🏾♂️
If anyone thinks pulisic is good at football. We can fight anytime
I don’t understand what has happened to pulisic why is he playing like this?
American fraud Pulisic committing fraud again, no wonder he’s missing
Nah pulisic moving like a Sunday league footballer. I’ve seen enough
Pulisic!! Hugh!!! This guy is just not cut out to perform at the highest level consistently. #CHELEI
Pulisic is a nonsense footballer!
Hopefully that is Pulisic’s last game for the club. Play the youth vs Watford & sell him in the summer.
Thomas Tuchel discusses future of Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta
One player conspicous by his absence from the Blues teamsheet was skipper Cesar Azpilicueta. He made his 47th appearance of the season in the clash with Leicester, coming on as a substitute in the second half.
However, there has been speculation that the 32-year-old may leave the club this summer in an attempt to join Barcelona. The Spanish defender recently triggered a 12-month extension in his deal with the Blues but could still leave.
In a pre-match press conference, Tuchel spoke about Azpilicueta's situation, saying (as quoted by The Metro):
"We had a lot of these talks because very genuinely it felt like he won everything after the Club World Cup, then suddenly given his personal situation I can understand these thoughts that maybe a cycle is at its end. Then it is a change of ownership and he played only under this owner in this structure so it maybe increased even his second thoughts about his situation. But then his extension kicked in at the same time."
He added:
"He loves the club, he loves the challenge, he loves to be here and he is our captain. We are still in a dialogue and at some point we are also selfish. We are not responsible to solve any other club’s problems or to fulfil any other club’s wishes. Given the fact we lose key defenders already [Rudiger and Christensen], it is not the ideal scenario to think about losing Azpi even if I can understand his personal point of view."
Cesar Azpilicueta has already told Chelsea that he wishes to join Barcelona in the summer.
🚨 Cesar Azpilicueta has already told Chelsea that he wishes to join Barcelona in the summer.
(Source: @Ekremkonur) https://t.co/YEQPGPOlSd
If Azpilicueta does indeed leave the club, he will leave so as a true Blues legend. He has made more than 470 appearances and won nine trophies with the club, most recently captaining them to the Champions League crown last year.