Chelsea new boy Christian Pulisic has revealed what other club’s star told Tammy Abraham, stating that “We said to him ‘It’s penalties, man – somebody has to miss.'”
The 21-year-old marked only his fourth appearance for the Blues in infamous fashion, coming off the bench to miss the deciding spot-kick as the European champions won 5-4 following 120 minutes which ended in a 2-2 draw.
The United States international believes Abraham is strong enough to put his penalty shoot-out heartache behind him after Chelsea lost the Super Cup Final in Istanbul, the Evening Standard report.
Olivier Giroud had earlier opened the scoring with a low 36th-minute drive before an equaliser from Sadio Mane three minutes after the restart took the game into extra-time.
Mane struck again before Abraham returned to the thick of the action, wasting a good chance prior to winning the penalty which Jorginho converted to equalise.
However, Adrian marked his full Liverpool debut by denying Abraham from 12 yards with head coach Frank Lampard and several players left to console the forward as Reds skipper Jordan Henderson lifted the trophy.
“We said to him ‘It’s penalties, man – somebody has to miss’,” Pulisic told Standard Sport. “He’s going to get his head up. Obviously it’s tough but penalties are like that.
“He can deal with it and he’ll be fine. He’ll move on, he’ll score a goal in the next game and everything will be forgotten. We’re there for him.”
Chelsea were the better side for lengthy spells at the Besiktas Stadium but ultimately had nothing to show for it as Liverpool claimed the Super Cup for the fourth time in their history.
Pulisic feels that despite falling short for the second time in four days after losing 4-0 at Manchester United last weekend, Lampard has the team on the right track.
“It was harsh on us,” he said. “A few things just didn’t go our way, a few decisions and in the end, to lose on penalties, that’s just how it goes. But we can be really proud of how we played.
“I don’t feel that we had a fair result at Old Trafford either. We’ve been creating enough chances to win these games and we just have to keep going and keep fighting.
“It’s been great working with him. We’ve learned a lot so far and I think you can see the team forming. We have a lot of great players which makes it easier. We’re on a good path.”
Pulisic made his full debut against Liverpool, impressing in a 74-minute outing in which he set up Giroud’s opening goal and had a brilliant striker of his own ruled out for a tight – but correct – offside call.
And the £58million summer signing from Borussia Dortmund insists he is desperate to contribute now rather than give himself time to adapt to English football.
“I felt great,” he added. “To be out there with these guys… they are easy to play with. I’m happy that I can get some more minutes in and move forward with this team. I’m going to go in and give my best from the start. I want to make an impact and help whatever way I can. However long that takes, it takes but I want to make an immediate impact.”