It has been a difficult start to life at Stamford Bridge for Christian Pulisic.
The American star has found minutes hard to come by at Chelsea, with Frank Lampard preferring Mason Mount in an attacking midfield role, and Pedro, Willian and now Callum Hudson-Odoi blocking routes into the first XI on the wings.
However, the former Borussia Dortmund attacker made a game-changing impact from the bench against Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon.
With fewer than 20 minutes remaining and the scores locked at 0-0, the 21-year-old progressed into the right side of the area before expertly picking out Hudson-Odoi.
The English winger collected the pass before turning and laying the ball off for Marcos Alonso to drive the ball low past Martin Dubravka for the only goal of the game as Lampard's side claimed all three points.
Lampard was quick to search out the player on the field afterwards, and it didn't go unnoticed by Chelsea fans.
Lampard went on to praise the American international in his post-match press conference, stating that the attacker deserved to be delighted with his role in the match.
"I'm really pleased for him," Lampard told reporters. "He’s a hot topic because of the price tag. Because of his status in his national team, and his world status through that.
"And everyone has got a little bit carried away with the short term. The long term is that he’s come here and he’s just turned 21 and to see him play like he did today, and there’s a lot more to come.
"It’s not the end story. You can see his balance and awareness and you can see how he can play.
"And there’s improvement to come as with all the young players, but delighted for him because he will feel good about that. And he should do because he was a big part of us winning that game."
