Christian Pulisic waited nearly six months to play in the Premier League again. The US men’s national team midfielder needed less than five minutes after coming off the substitute’s bench to score for Chelsea in a 2-1 win over host Aston Villa Sunday.
Pulisic made an immediate impact after coming on for Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the 55th minute, firing in the first-time equalizer at the back post on the hour mark. It was the 21-year-old’s seventh goal of the season.
Pulisic last appeared on Jan. 1 against Brighton and Hove Albion and had been sidelined with an adductor injury since. He returned to training in late January, but suffered a setback. Pulisic returned to training in early March where he competed in an in-house 11-v-11 scrimmage.
Leading up to his Premier League return, Pulisic competed in scrimmage wins against Reading and Queens Park Rangers.
US youth international Indiana Vassilev was an unused substitute for Villa.
