CHELSEA boss Frank Lampard hailed Christian Pulisic after another brilliant performance from the wing wizard.
The American won a penalty and continued his blistering form as the Blues cruised past Watford 3-0.
Christian Pulisic was brilliant again against Watford – and continues to draw comparisons to Chelsea great Eden HazardCredit: AP:Associated Press
Only 21, Pulisic has arguably been Chelsea’s best player since football returned after the coronavirus lockdown.
Inevitably, Pulisic is starting to draw comparisons to the man he replaced, Chelsea legend Eden Hazard.
The Belgian left for Real Madrid last summer in a mammoth deal that could eventually net the west London club as much as £150million.
Hazard joined Chelsea at a similar age to Pulisic and went on to become one of the best players in world football.
His trophy-laden stay saw him win two Premier League titles, the Europa League twice, the League Cup and the FA Cup.
He also won numerous individual awards and scored 110 goals while adding 92 assists in 352 games for the Blues.
Eden Hazard won six major trophies at Chelsea and grew into one of the world’s best playersCredit: AFP or licensors
Frank Lampard played with Eden Hazard – and certainly did not shoot down comparisons to PulisicCredit: Reuters
Pulisic will take a while to reach those heights, but former Hazard team-mate Frank Lampard can certainly see massive potential in the American.
“I don’t want to get involved in that one too much because I played with Eden,” Lampard smiled, when asked to compare the two diminutive wingers.
He added: “They can both go by players and they’re great to watch.
“Eden did it here and was sensational in what he did here with his input personally into the club winning trophies.
“I don’t want to get on that comparison too much, but at the same time I don’t want to take away from Christian because what he’s showing now is a real natural ability, a balance and a speed to dribble with the ball.”
Lampard then marked out what Pulisic needed to do next.
“The next step for him is more end product, more goals, more assists.
“But in this small restart he’s already showing that and looks great.
“He’s had injury problems but he’s a good one and I’m very happy with him.”
Speaking on the comparisons, Pulisic himself said: “Eden was an incredible player for Chelsea and is a world class player so I’m not going to try to compare myself to him.
“I’m just going to try to be my own player and hopefully the fans like that guy.
“I feel confident in my game right now and I’m happy to be on the field to help my team. I’m just going to continue and keep my confidence high.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
