‘Impressive’: Roberto Martinez lauds ‘surprise’ display of player Liverpool want to sign

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Roberto Martinez told CBS Sports on Paramount+ on Tuesday evening that reported Liverpool target, Christian Pulisic, was ‘impressive’ for Chelsea in the Champions League.

Where Liverpool slipped up, Chelsea shone, with their American speedster producing a strong first-half display as Thomas Tuchel’s men left Madrid with a 1-1 draw in the first-leg of their semi-final European tie.

A player plagued by injuries, Pulisic has an engine worthy of donning Liverpool colours, hence the interest from the Merseyside giants, as reported by the Daily Mail.

But, at this moment in time, the 22-year-old is shining in Chelsea colours and Belgium boss, Martinez, likes what he is seeing.

“In 2016, Thomas Tuchel used him against Marcelo with Dortmund,” said Martinez. “And it was great to see the comparison of the two performances.

“On that day, he was working hard to stop Marcelo from going forward. And now, it was the other way around. He was the one dictating and getting on the ball. I thought the first 30 minutes showed Pulisic the player that he could be. The player that Chelsea signed.

“He played well beyond his years. He surprised me how he played on the right-hand side. I didn’t see his profile at Dortmund that he was more on the left-hand side, coming inside.

“But tonight, it was impressive to see how he adapted into that role. It was certainly the surprise that Real Madrid didn’t expect.”

There could be the possibility that it could be an-all English Champions League final, with Manchester City recording a pretty impressive 2-1 win at PSG last night.

Both Chelsea and Manchester City hold the advantages going into their second-leg showdowns and Europe might just see a 2019 repeat.

The last time there was an all-English final, Liverpool claimed their sixth crown by comfortably beating a Tottenham side now struggling in the Premier League.

That year also saw Chelsea dispatch Arsenal in the Europa League final, and once again, Arsenal might repeat that scenario, but this time with Manchester United, if both can overcome Villarreal and Roma, respectively.