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Former Chelsea footballer and assistant coach Jody Morris has defended Christian Pulisic's performances for the club this season.
Pulisic has faced familiar issues once again in the ongoing season, which is his third at Stamford Bridge. The American international has struggled to get a consistent run in the team due to injuries and inconsistency. He has made just 21 starts across all competitions this term with just one game left to go.
Morris, who won the FA Cup with Chelsea back in 2000, has speculated whether Pulisic's inconsistency could be due to the latter worrying about his own game. He told Stadium Astro, (as quoted by football.london):
“I think he thinks about his game a lot, maybe he worries about it a little bit too much. I do believe he’s had some really good spells here [at Chelsea] it just coincided sometimes with the fact that when he was going through his best spells he did pick up an injury.”
Morris' comments came after Blues boss Thomas Tuchel noted that players will feel disappointed when they don't play regularly. But he praised Pulisic's reaction to the situation. As per the aforementioned source, Tuchel said:
“You will never see happy faces from players who are not selected... The players are responsible for being in the team and staying in the team. Am I always right? For sure, not. Is it always fair? For sure, not. The reaction from Christian has been the opposite, he's very strong, very positive in the last weeks.”
Pulisic has notably started each of his side's last three matches, recording a goal and an assist. Overall, the 23-year-old has managed eight goals and five assists in 38 games this season while averaging less than 60 minutes per appearance.
Chelsea will end their 2021-22 season on 22 May
Chelsea will host Watford at Stamford Bridge in their final match of the Premier League season on Sunday, 22 May.
Neither club has much to play for as the Blues have secured third place in the league standings while the Hornets have already been relegated. Tuchel's side notably won the reverse fixture at Vicarage Road 2-1.
Chelsea have enjoyed a decent season, having lifted the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. However, the London-based club will be disappointed to have not won at least one of the two domestic cups after making the finals of both Carabao Cup and FA Cup.
They also failed to defend their UEFA Champions League crown, exiting in the quarterfinals after a 4-5 aggregate against eventual finalists Real Madrid.
