It didn’t take long for U.S. international winger Christian Pulisic to make an impact for Chelsea after coming in as a substitute on Sunday against Aston Villa. Pulisic needed just five minutes of action to score an equalizing goal, which helped the London club to a 1-2 comeback win.
Aston Villa was better in the first part of the game, managing to get ahead just before the halftime. Defender Kortney Hause used the confusion in the penalty area after a cross from Douglas Luiz and got the ball past Kepa to give his team a deserved lead.
Chelsea entered the second half with an attacking mentality but couldn’t crack Villa’s defense in the first 10 minutes of the period. Manager Frank Lampard then decided to put in Ross Barkley and Christian Pulisic instead of Mateo Kovacic and Robert Loftus-Cheek in the 55th minute, hoping for a spark that could lead his team back into the game.
Lampard’s tinkering already paid off in the 60th minute, as Pulisic scored his seventh goal of the season thanks to a great assist from Cesar Azpilicueta. It was a great moment for USMNT star, considering he was playing his first game since January.
Just two minutes later, Chelsea scored again thanks to French striker Olivier Giroud, who converted another assist from Azpilicueta.
Chelsea managed to keep the 1-2 lead until the end of the game and made a big step towards playing UEFA Champions League next year. They now sit at the fourth spot in Premier League with five points more than their closest followers Manchester United and Wolverhampton.
Aston Villa, on the other hand, still finds itself in the relegation zone, sitting at 19th with 26 points.
