Frank Lampard “missed a trick” by not playing Christian Pulisic during Chelsea’s clash against Liverpool on Sunday, claims former West Ham midfielder Don Hutchison.
Pulisic was an unused substitute for the Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool won the match 2-1 despite a spirited second-half performance from Chelsea.
Hutchison praised Lampard’s side for how they reacted to going 2-0 down.
But he claimed picking Pulisic, who impressed in the UEFA Super Cup defeat to Liverpool last month, could have made a difference.
“I thought Liverpool were the better side in the first 45 minutes but [Chelsea] finished really strong,” Hutchison told Premier League Productions.
“I was a little bit surprised, maybe looking at it from the off when I saw the line-ups come in and Frank went with a back four instead of a five.
“I understand it because I was in Istanbul last month at the Super Cup final when he played a four and for probably 30, 35 minutes of the game, start of the game, I thought Chelsea were fantastic.
“The difference was Pulisic didn’t play [on Sunday] and maybe from the start Frank missed a trick.
“But it’s hard to knock what he did [on Sunday] because the second-half display from his young boys and some of the players on the pitch, I though they deserved something out of the game.”
USA international winger Pulisic has not played for Chelsea since the 2-2 Premier League draw against Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge on August 31.
On leaving the 21-year-old out against Liverpool, Lampard said: “I have a squad to pick from, I decided to go with Mason [Mount] today,
“These are my choices to make. Christian is a young player as well. His chances will come.
“There are people on the bench.”