Hello and welcome to the total soccer show.

My name is Daryl Grove and I'm joined by a man who loves a pull-assist.

His name is Taylor Rockwell.

Hello.

Hello.

I do love a pull-assist, excuse me.

I love it even more when I'm watching in studio with Daryl Grove,

because you are so optimistic about Christian Policicic that every time he's on the ball, I genuinely think you think there's a chance he's going to go on a run and score a goal or create an assist. So every time he had the ball, you're like, he's got it, he's got the ball, and then it ended up working. So I guess your faith was restored. So for those who don't know, we're recording this. It's not going to be a format review, but we're recording just after.

It is definitely not going to be a format review. Iax versus Chelsea. Chelsea 1-1-0. This is true. We did turn it on. I was thinking, all right, Pulisic didn't start. This feels like roughly the time he might be coming on. I'm on a role today, I think. I should go to the casino. I turn the TV on and literally Pulisic was doing his paperwork, getting ready to sub it.

He was like adjusting a shingar.

Yeah. It's got to stretch and doing the final little stretches waiting to be subbed on. Yeah, you timed it very well. Roughly 65th minute. Pulisic came on, played left wing, had a couple runs, was somewhat involved, and then got the assist. Yeah, he burnt some hapless right back. Some weird Dutch right back. Yeah. So it was Pulisic up against Sugenia Dest, a couple of stepovers. And he kind of got Dest to open his legs up, right? And then fired the ball back across the corridor of uncertainty, kind of, across Sixthard Bucks. Alonso opened his legs, let it run through. He did. And then Mishi Batswai tried to blast it over the bar, but somehow got it just under the bar. One-nil, Chelsea. And it was a run and ball that Pulisic had hit like moments before. That time it obviously did not come off because the score finished 1-0. But here, I think it's the deception from Alonso that really throws it off and causes some problems, but still it's a great driving run and a great ball in. He finds his teammate, his teammate is just smart enough to know not to touch it. And then the other teammate definitely touches it because Bacchway hits that ball hard. And here's why I think I'm so into the Pulisist and kind of excited by it is a lot of people were really freaked out about Pulisic's lack of playing time. I think they really were. I didn't see the several thousand stories written about it. Well, a lot of just U.S. soccer fans are just a bit panicky, I think. That will be a thing I was going to say. When we answer some of the questions about the US men's national team.

Based on the 400 questions we got? Yeah, I'd say so. But we both on this show kind of kept the

faith in terms of let's just see what happens. It's a long season, right? And I think we're

beginning to see Pulisic coming off the bench having an impact that kind of justifies what Lampard

did with him at the start of the season. Yeah, I think there were moments... It's going to be okay, is what I'm saying.

It is.

I think there were moments in some of the weekend reviews when Ryan and I were a little bit more

negative because it was in that stretch of like, he's not even on the bench today. Well, I take no blame for what happens on Mondays when I'm not here. That's fair. That's fair. But I think when it was like, I'm not, it sounds very hipster, but I think it was slightly before people had really started to worry about Pulisic's lack of playing time. That said, I think, like, the first time

he didn't start a game, people were already concerned. Yeah. But I think once we started to hear more quotes from Lampart about where he was and why he wasn't starting, yeah, that's when I was more of more mind of the mind of like yeah it's okay he's got to develop and get to that point

this is also making me trust frank man part like when he says things like i can't believe how how much

i trust more mind of the mind of like, yeah, it's okay. He's got to develop and get to that point. This is also making me trust Frank Lampart. Like when he says things like...

I can't believe how much I trust Frank Lampart at this point as a coach, at least. And I mean his literal words. Like when he says things like, hey, he's one of a number of young players, he's settling in, he'll get his chance, all that kind of stuff. Some coaches will say that and then you never see the player again and you're like you I don't think the door really was always open

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