Photo : Alex Burstow ( Getty )

The start of Christian Pulisic’s first Premier League season is just 10 days away, though the former Wonderteen has only spent a few weeks with Chelsea after the USMNT lost the Gold Cup final. Has he had time to get up to speed and prepare for a grueling campaign? With the obvious caveat that preseason friendly performances are not perfect predictors of the future, there’s plenty of reason to be excited.




Pulisic got the start in Chelsea’s penultimate preseason tuneup against Red Bull Salzburg this afternoon, and he made an immediate and significant impact. Within a span of eight minutes, Pulisic had a direct hand in three goals for the Blues, scoring a pair and drawing a penalty from which Ross Barkley scored. His running has been far too much for Red Bull’s defense, and he scored the opener through a defender’s legs.


Six minutes after winning the penalty for Barkley’s goal, the English midfielder returned the favor with a gorgeous long pass on a counterattack. Pulisic collected the ball at a full sprint and coolly finished ahead of two onrushing defenders and the advancing goalie. His first touch on both goals was perfect.

So, yes, it is still July and a great preseason game doesn’t necessarily indicate future success, but with the necessary disclaimers out of the way this is indisputable proof that Pulisic will win the treble for Chelsea, along with the EPL Golden Boot and the Ballon d’Or.

(Also this happened, holy shit.)