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Christian Pulisic has scored his first goal for Chelsea in more than a month, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the club.
In the 90th minute of a scoreless match with West Ham, Marcos Alonso’s low cross into the box split four defenders before finding Pulisic. The U.S. men’s national team star patiently timed his run before pinpointing the bottom corner of the net with a precise left-footed strike.
Chelsea benefitted from a Craig Dawson red card after the West Ham defender brought down Romelu Lukaku with a clear chance on goal in the 86th minute. But Chelsea’s Jorginho saw his weak penalty saved by West Ham keeper Łukasz Fabiański with just minutes remaining.
But Pulisic, who has started only one of Chelsea’s last seven matches, came to the rescue three minutes later with his fifth league goal of the season—and first since March 5 against Burnley. The American winger has only logged 71 Premier League minutes since, but he made his 14 minutes count Sunday.
“It was a massive goal,” Pulisic told Reuters. “We had so much pressure on them for most of the game but we couldn’t get that breakthrough, so I am happy I was able to help out.
“I needed to come in and make a difference, prove I want to be playing and I am happy I did that.”
The win comes as a huge boost for Chelsea after seeing its hold on a top-four spot and automatic Champions League qualification loosened by a 4–2 drubbing at the hands of rival Arsenal on Wednesday.
It also comes exactly one year ago to the day of Chelsea’s 1–0 win over West Ham, when the Hammers also saw a player sent off in the final 10 minutes of the match.
The win extends third-place Chelsea’s lead over Arsenal to five points with a game in hand. Chelsea’s lead over fifth-place Tottenham now sits at seven points.
