In Spanish soccer, there’s a concept known as
la pausa, popularized most recently by Barcelona’s philosopher-monk (and Real Madrid nemesis) Xavi. The obvious translation is close but not quite correct. It’s more accurate to think of it as the proper change of pace: knowing when to go slow, even when to stop, and then when to speed back up again.
For a moment, it looked like Chelsea had squandered another opportunity. The omnipresent N’Golo Kanté has won a second ball, but his pass to Pulisic goes a little too far, taking the American narrow and drawing out Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. But Pulisic refuses to rush, faking the shot and then taking his time to step over the ball again. And once he gets there, he hits them with