Christian Pulisic Talks About Opening Struggles with Chelsea and First Hat-Trick

Christian Pulisic said the start of his Chelsea career has been a tough experience after he scored a hat-trick on Saturday in the 4-2 Premier League victory at Burnley.

The United States international got just his fourth league start from Frank Lampard and repaid his manager with a dazzling performance and a perfect treble.

Pulisic scored with both feet for his opening two goals and collected his hat-trick with an impressive header.

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According to Sky Sports' Peter Smith, Pulisic said he was delighted to repay his coach's faith but admitted it has taken him time to adapt to life in England.

"It's unreal. What a day for me. I'm even happier with the result. I wish we could have got a clean sheet but in the end that's a special day for me.

"The first few months were definitely hard. I had a few starts early in the season but then I fell out a bit where I was just trying to get any minutes that I could to make an impact.

"But in the last few weeks I was able to show that again, that I was helping the team coming in. I think they saw that and gave me a start today.

"I didn't think it was going to happen right away. Coming into a big club like this it takes time. I'm happy with the progress I've made so far and I'm just going to keep going from here."

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Pulisic gave Chelsea fans a glimpse of why the club invested £57.6 million in his services after his capture from Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund.

Eden Hazard's exit to Real Madrid left a hole in the Blues' midfield, and the American proved on Saturday that he might be the man to fill the void.

The Pennsylvania-born forward was ruthless as he exposed Burnley's weaknesses, latching on to Matthew Lowton's mistake to dribble with the ball into the box. Pulisic finished with his left foot past goalkeeper Nick Pope to give his side the opener.

The player grabbed his second on the stroke of half-time, and a right-footed effort cannoned off a defender to leave Pope wrong-footed at the vital moment.

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Pulisic's third underlined the attacker's diverse skill set, and the American expertly glanced Mason Mount's cross into the far corner with a deft header.

Mount's form as a No. 10 has restricted Pulisic's minutes in recent weeks, but the pair started together at Burnley in a dynamic attack with Willian and Tammy Abraham.

The four players were involved in all four goals, with Pulisic and Willian scoring, and Mount and Abraham providing assists.

Chelsea's transfer ban could be a blessing in disguise for Lampard, and he now has a grace period to bed in his exceptional young squad.

The four on show up front for the Stamford Bridge club might quickly develop into the most exciting attack in England, and Chelsea could comfortably secure a top-four berth and success in cup competitions.