DaMarcus Beasley pushed after Simon Jordan called Christian Pulisic ‘lightweight’, describing him as ‘a fighter’.
The Chelsea winger is a star player for the United States and is expected to feature when they face England in Group B on Friday.
Getty
Pulisic was impressive for USA against Wales
Getty
Beasley described him as ‘a fighter’ for the way he tries his best for his country
While a key player for his country, Pulisic has struggled to fulfill his potential since moving to west London in 2019.
During that span, the 24-year-old made 133 appearances, scoring 26 goals and providing 21 assists.
Despite posting decent numbers, it was Pulisic’s consistency that was called into question but according to American legend Beasley he was happy to see the player back to his best in his World Cup opener against Wales.
Speaking on White and Jordan, Beasley said: “I’m happy with the effort he’s made.
“Star players have to find big moments in big games and he did that. He got the assist on goal.
“What do we like to see? We love seeing Christian drive with the ball, which he can’t do at Chelsea as he plays at right-back most of the time, so give him the ball in the right places!
Getty
However, Jordan wasn’t as impressed, describing the winger as ‘lightweight’
“He’s playing in different positions but now he’s in a place where he can make a difference and for us that’s a big bonus.”
Responding to those comments, Jordan was unimpressed saying: “I watched him and thought he was about to come when he played in the FA Cup final when he was so relevant in the first half.
“I don’t know if it’s confidence versus skill, but there’s an element of him that doesn’t make it in the Premier League.
“That might be a very top-down thing to say, but he looks lighthearted.
Getty
Pulisic only showed his quality in small doses for Chelsea
“He has all the technical ability, but when it comes to that, he just lacks at the highest level, hence why he doesn’t dominate the space at Chelsea.
“I don’t think he has enough impact and physically I think he’s light.”
Beasley replied, “It’s fair, it’s an opinion, but he’s a fighter.
“You saw he basically got beaten against Wales, but he will keep coming on and going on.
“Maybe he needs to play that way with Chelsea because you see him week in and week out, but with the United States he’s beaten but picks himself up.
“I will tell you that when you play at Chelsea and fight for the top spots, you have to have the end product.”
talkSPORT World Cup 2022 coverage
talkSPORT will provide wall-to-wall coverage of the 2022 World Cup
We will broadcast all 64 matches of the tournament live, with over 600 hours of coverage on our network.
You can tune into talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2 via our free online streaming service at talkSPORT.com.
talkSPORT is widely available across the UK via DAB digital radio and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
You can also download the talkSPORT app or ask your smart speaker to play talkSPORT.
