Christian Pulisic: How USA international made Premier League history with Chelsea hat-trick
At long last, Christian Pulisic truly announced himself as a Chelsea player on Saturday, scoring a hat-trick as the Blues beat Burnley 4-2 at Turf Moor.
The USA international has struggled for playing time at Stamford Bridge following his £57.6m move from Borussia Dortmund, starting just three Premier League games prior to Saturday.
Many fans – especially in his homeland – have criticised Frank Lampard’s handling of the 21-year-old but following the defeat of Burnley, Pulisic himself insisted he’s happy with his progress at the club so far.
And he has every right to be. Not only did his trio of goals help Chelsea extend their winning run to seven games in all competitions, but it also made Pulisic the youngest player to score a Premier League hat-trick in club history at just 21 years and 38 days old.
In fact, it gets even better for Pulisic as he not only becomes just the second American player to score a Premier League hat-trick – alongside Clint Dempsey for Fulham against Newcastle in 2012 – but also joins a very elite list of players to have scored a perfect hat-trick (left foot, right foot, header) for Chelsea.
Didier Drogba was the last to do so during an 8-0 win over Wigan Athletic in 2010, with fellow club legends Gianluca Vialli and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink joining him on that list, which is made up by Ivory Coast international Salamon Kalou.
Five Chelsea players have scored a perfect hat-trick in the Premier League:
🇮🇹 Gianluca Vialli
🇳🇱 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
🇨🇮 Salomon Kalou
🇨🇮 Didier Drogba
🇺🇸 Christian PulisicPerfection. pic.twitter.com/J0aNEy2cwn
— Squawka (@Squawka) October 26, 2019
This standout performance has certainly got people talking back in the States, while Pulisic himself will look to use it as a springboard to truly ignite his career in London.
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