Football feature: Thomas Tuchel had left Christian Pulisic "stunned and very disappointed."

The former Chelsea forward has explained why he was ostracised by Thomas Tuchel, the club's champion manager and why he should have been given a second chance.

Christian Pulisic has spoken out against his former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, calling himself "dumbfounded and very unhappy" by Tuchel's decision to bench him for the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid in 2021.

The West London club was up against Los Blancos in the semifinals of Europe's most prestigious club championship, and they knew a victory would put them one win away from the title.

After Pulisic put Chelsea ahead in the first leg in Madrid, French sensation Karim Benzema equalised, setting up a decisive second leg at Stamford Bridge.

Even though Pulisic started and scored Chelsea's goal in the 1-1 draw in the first leg in Madrid, he started on the substitute's bench for the return leg at Stamford Bridge despite being guaranteed he would be in the starting lineup.

Since then, Pulisic has claimed that the goal he scored in the Spanish capital occurred because he disregarded Tuchel's orders to stay back and ran into the opponent's box instead.

Since he scored Chelsea's goal in the first leg, Pulisic was understandably anticipating a starting role in the return match.

Chelsea won the game 2-0, advancing to the championship game without Pulisic in the starting lineup. Nonetheless, he was still able to contribute significantly. The American international assisted Mason Mount's game-winning goal in the 85th minute.

Christian Pulisic opens up on Thomas Tuchel's treatment

According to an excerpt published in Pulisic's upcoming book 'Christian Pulisic: My Journey So Far, he wrote, "What happened before that game was hugely disappointing for me." 

"I'd had a really good first leg performance and our following match was against Fulham in the league. Tuchel told me that he was resting me for the second leg and as a result, I didn't play a single minute in the Fulham game."

"Then on match day of the second semi, Tuchel tells me he's changed his mind and he's going with Kai [Havertz]. I honestly was dumbfounded and very disappointed. I thought that I'd earned a start and, most importantly, he had assured me previously I was going to start."

Pulisic had previously worked with Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund, but he saw little playing time during Tuchel's tenure at Stamford Bridge and was rumoured to be leaving Chelsea this summer. Tuchel was replaced as coach earlier this month by Graham Potter; thus, the expected departure never happened.

Despite the coaching change, Pulisic saw little action in Potter's first game in charge last week; a 1-1 Champions League draw with FC Salzburg.

Pulisic, 24, is expected to play a significant role for the United States in their group stage matchups against Wales, England, and Iran at this year's World Cup in Qatar. The tournament is scheduled to begin on November 20.