Christian Pulisic: Player Rating and Performance v Crystal Palace
Chelsea took a major step towards qualification for the Champions League on Tuesday by defeating Crystal Palace 3-2 to move into third in the Premier League table.
Frank Lampard's side had to be vigilant as the Eagles twice halved the deficit, but goals from Olivier Giroud, Christian Pulisic, and Tammy Abraham just saw them clear to claim all three points.
What was Pulisic's overall display like?
📷 Match Snapshot
In the first portion of the match which saw Chelsea take the lead through Giroud, Pulisic was a complete pest to the Palace defence, with his direct dribbling and relentless running off the ball causing huge problems.
⚽ ⏱️ 27' Shortly after the drinks break in the first period, the USA international took advantage of some flat-footed defending from Joel Ward to easily skip his way past the attempted tackle before flashing an emphatic left-footed finish into the top left corner. It was beyond Vicente Guaita before he had the chance to react.
From there on the confidence was flowing, as he very nearly recorded an assist after he passed square for Willian after a mesmerising run through the middle, only for Guita to make the save on this occasion.
He completed four dribbles on the night as well as sending two crosses into the box.
In terms of passing he completed 22/28 balls to team-mates, but nine of them were successfully sent into dangerous areas in the final third.
Crystal Palace 2-3 Chelsea: Full Player Ratings and Statistics
He missed out on the man of the match, though, with Willian earning the gong with a 9.4 FC Rating following his two assists.
〽️ Rating Week-on-Week
✔️ IMPROVEMENT
Even though Pulisic's performances have been solid enough recently, he hadn't scored or assisted a goal since the win over Manchester City prior to the game against Palace.
In his last outing in the victory against Watford, he earned a 6.9 FC Rating, which was improved upon to a 7.6 FC Rating in the win versus Palace.
🗝️ Key Stats
Pulisic match stats
| Statistic | Value | Notes |
| FC Rating | 7.6 | |
| Mins Played | 90 | |
| Touches | 55 | |
| Touches In Box | 5 | |
| Shots | 1 | |
| On Target | 1 | |
| Goals | 1 |
What Next?
Thanks to Leicester's poor run of form, Chelsea are now in a terrific position to qualify for the Champions League, with them now in third. Vital to their ascendancy in recent weeks has indeed been the form of Pulisic, who appears eager to impress following the raft of recent signing announcements.
Frank Lampard will be hoping the former Dortmund winger can continue this form into the next campaign and indeed for the remainder of this season.