American media react to former Chelsea stars Christian Pulisic and Mauricio Pochettino’s World Cup opener
World Cup hosts United States are off and running in the tournament with an emphatic 4-1 win over Paraguay, with both Mauricio Pochettino and Christian Pulisic impressing.
The former Chelsea boss is in charge at his first World Cup, with Carlo Ancelotti, Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter also present after stints at Stamford Bridge.
Pochettino got off to the best possible start with the most dominant win of the tournament so far, up against a Paraguay side who were sweating over the fitness of Chelsea target Julio Enciso.
American media praise Christian Pulisic and Mauricio Pochettino after USA beat Paraguay
The Strasbourg man picked up an assist, although his side were blown away by an emphatic performance from the USA.
The biggest surprise was out of four goals, none of them went to golden boy Christian Pulisic, although he certainly played his part in the victory.
ESPN handed Pulisic an eight out of 10 in their player ratings, the highest they gave to any of their players from the dominant win.
They said: “Maybe Rafael Leão’s impending departure could see AC Milan move him to the left. Because that’s where he has continued to look the most dangerous, in those exchanges with Robinson down the wing in addition to when he drifted inside to create opportunities — like the one that led to Balogun’s goal — alongside McKennie and Tillman before he was replaced to start the second half.”
They were also very complimentary of Pochettino for his decision to bring Crystal Palace’s Chris Richards back into the side, and getting them over the line in a game they were favourites for.
They gave him a seven out of 10, saying: “Getting Chris Richards back into the lineup allowed Pochettino to have his first-choice XI in a game that saw them look strong in numerous areas.
“And though this was a game the U.S. was favored to win, how many times has that been the case only to see the U.S. come up short or not at all?”
The result gives them a great chance of qualifying out of Group D, which also includes Australia and Turkey.
As far as other Chelsea transfer targets go, Ricardo Pepi came off the bench and came close to scoring in the second half.
The 23-year-old striker is in-demand after another prolific season in front of goal, and already grew up supporting Chelsea.
from Chelsea FC Latest News & Club Updates | The Chelsea Chronicle https://ift.tt/Gul79RI
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