Christian Pulisic is not in Chelsea’s team to face Real Madrid tonight, despite having scored in the first leg.
That’s the big team news, and it’s fair to say some elements of Chelsea Twitter are puzzled by the decision.
Werner does a lot of good things, and his speed is a huge weapon, as we saw in the first leg. But the rate he’s missing chances is phenomenal, while Pulisic showed the calm in front of goal the team has lacked when we played in Spain last week.
Some people have pointed out that Pulisic will be able to come on and attack Madrid’s ageing stars later – but the same would be true for Werner coming on later.
Tuchel knows what he likes, and he’s seen the recent misses up close. We’ve got to trust him at this stage, given how well he’s done. But you can bet there will be recriminations if Werner has another off day.
You can see a selection of the reaction in the Tweets embedded here:
Werner over Pulisic……
— Felz (@CFC_Felz) May 5, 2021
I trust Pulisic off the bench than Werner if I’m being honest
— uX ONGA SOLVEKI. (@thabox_) May 5, 2021
Pulisic has plenty of pace and dribbling ability that Werner doesn’t have I strongly disagree with that
— amadí (@amadoit__) May 5, 2021
Pulisic on bench. Chelsea start Werner. Tuchel keen to prove he can beat Real Madrid with just 10 men
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) May 5, 2021
Pulisic starts on the bench tonight vs. Real Madrid 😮❌ pic.twitter.com/S3Y8ZXsw3o
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 5, 2021
https://twitter.com/JMar16i/status/1390000784272723974
No Pulisic and Werner starts pic.twitter.com/lbKSSKGrCW
— EnzoFC (@HyperObsecure) May 5, 2021
Pulisic on the bench to come on and terrorize Real Madrid for the last 30 minutes. I see the vision.
— Aaron (@AaronOfGeorgia) May 5, 2021
Pulisic is a bench player mate. He is not starter level
— Berner100 (@Legendary3500) May 5, 2021
https://twitter.com/rxn_szn1/status/1390000792334217223
https://twitter.com/sirowenjnr/status/1390000787447631881
How does he drop pulisic but werner
— Bryce4410 (@bryce4410) May 5, 2021
No pulisic? This Werner guy has Tuchel’s nudes in his phone
— Chibuike_ (@Chibuikebeke) May 5, 2021
It should be Werner coming on against tired legs ffs not Pulisic
— Sumeet (@flameosumeet) May 5, 2021