Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic has admitted that 2020/21 has been a challenging season for him because of injuries and other setbacks affecting his playing time, but insists he is ‘feeling healthy and strong’ after scoring in consecutive games for the first time in nearly a year.
Pulisic netted a brace in Chelsea’s 4-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday, having previously scored the opener in the shock collapse against West Brom week earlier. It was June 2020 and ‘Project Restart’ the last time that happened.
Top pundit Gary Neville even predicted over the summer that the American was on course to become the Premier League’s next international star because of how he finished last season, but Pulisic has been limited to only 12 league starts across Chelsea’s 31 games so far.
The 22-year-old hopes he has now put his fitness problems behind him.
“I am doing my best to take care of myself. I have got to take care of my body and be strong and healthy for all the games,” Pulisic told Chelsea’s official website.
“It has not been an easy season, there has been a lot of coming in and coming out and injuries, but I’m feeling healthy and strong right now.”
Following defeat by West Brom, victory over Palace was vital for Chelsea in order to keep their top four chances alive. With seven games remaining, the Blues are just one point behind West Ham in fourth place, while a suddenly struggling Leicester are only one point further ahead in third.
But Chelsea also have stiff competition from an improving Liverpool side that has now won three in a row, with the Reds only three points adrift of fourth place themselves.
Having been beaten in last season’s final by Arsenal, Chelsea are also still in the FA Cup and will face Manchester City in the semi-finals at Wembley on Saturday 17 April.
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Source : 90min