United States international Christian Pulisic was not included in Chelsea’s matchday squad for the Champions League victory over Lille on Wednesday.
Aside from the Carabao Cup third-round tie with third-tier Grimsby which Frank Lampard’s side won 7-1, Pulisic has not featured for Chelsea since a 2-2 draw with Sheffield United on Aug. 31.
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Lampard started with Mason Mount and Willian supporting Tammy Abraham in attack against Lille, while Callum Hudson-Odoi and Pedro made appearances from the substitute’s bench.
Having lost their first match of the group stage 1-0 at home to Valencia — with Pulisic an unused substitute — Chelsea took the three points against Lille in a 2-1 win that saw Abraham and Willian score for the Blues.
Pulisic earlier on Wednesday was named in United States national team manager Gregg Berhalter’s squad for October Nations League matches against Cuba and Canada. And Berhalter suggested Pulisic’s recent lack of minutes at Chelsea is part of a natural adaptation period.
“When you look at his situation at Chelsea, it’s not uncommon for a player to take some time to get settled and to adapt,” Berhalter said. “You see a player like Antoine Griezmann at Barcelona who is having a difficult time. This happens. This is what happens when you transition into a new team, to new leagues, and it’s a common issues that we see. He’s going to be just fine. For us, his status is the same as it’s always been.”
Berhalter added: “I was over last week visiting Chelsea. I had good conversations with the club, I had good conversations with the technical director, with the manager and I think his situation is a question of a player adapting to a new team and finding his footing. We believe in the long run he is going to be fine.”
Pulisic eventually joined Chelsea in the summer having spent the second half of the 2018-19 campaign on loan at former side Borussia Dortmund after the two sides agreed to a $64 million transfer in January.