Christian Pulisic scored the perfect hattrick for Chelsea before Willian sealed the game for Chelsea. We look at the three things we learned from Chelsea’s away win against Burnley.
Pulisic has truly announced himself
It’s safe to say that Christian Pulisic has had a tough start to his Chelsea career since making a £58million move from Dortmund with reports saying that he might leave on loan in the January transfer window but it’s safe to say that the American has truly silenced his doubters for the moment. The 21-year-old scored the first hattrick of his career. His goals also oozed class, the first two included stepovers and body swerve past England contender James Tarkowski, and the treble goal was a flick header directed by the back of his neck.
Pulisic has surely now cemented his place in the Chelsea side at least for the next game against Manchester United in the Carabao Cup.
Chelsea can win ugly
Burnley had the away side pinned at the start of the first half with Chelsea struggling to control possession. It looked like Chelsea was in for a tough game particularly playing against Burnley’s physicality.
But Chelsea got the breakthrough, The opening goal after 21 minutes arrived when Matt Lowton dwelt on the ball midway inside his own half when Pulisic pounced and set off towards the penalty area.
The Blues didn’t quite match the midweek performance against Ajax but showed that sometimes you just need to win even when you are not at your best.
Kovacic has found his role in the team
Midfielder Mateo Kovacic was instrumental in Chelsea’s win over Burnley. The 25-year-old had a brilliant game in the middle of the park and played an important role in the Blues’ 4-2 win. The Croatia international was brilliant on the ball, drove the team forward and was a big presence in midfield. Kovacic took one shot, played one key pass, had a pass accuracy of 91.8%, took 123 touches, and made four tackles and one interception.
Last season Maurizio Sarri played him in a more attacking role where he was expected to contribute more offensively with goals and assists which did not suit him.
For now, it seems like Kovacic has found his home in a deeper role.
