“You cannot imagine… crazy, surreal.” – Thomas Tuchel’s first 48 hours as Chelsea manager

Thomas Tuchel may be dubbed a tactical chameleon but he is no magician. And the 887 passes without a goal should not define his Chelsea bow, either.

“When I look at this game, I am pretty amazed as I can totally identify with what I did (in training),” explained Tuchel as he conducted his post-match media duties.

“We saw 16 recoveries in the last third which is pretty amazing for the intensity and energy on the pitch. We managed to put the game completely in the opponent’s half, we managed to stop counter-attacks very early, we created a lot of half-chances.”

It’s been a hectic couple of days for the ex-Mainz, Borrusia Dortmund and Paris Saint Germain manager. Landing on British soil Tuesday afternoon, the 47-year old took no time to demonstrate his well-documented pragmatism – postponing his official unveiling press conference so he could prepare his new team under the Cobham floodlights for the visit of Wolves the following evening.

Credit: talkSPORT

Though the team he is taking over is one bereft of confidence; one still raw from the dismissal of club icon Frank Lampard on Monday.

Despite the likes of Christian Pulisic and Thiago Silva use to Tuchel’s methods from previous clubs, a sense of apprehension lingered amongst the squad. Five defeats in their last eight prompted the impression that they were in for a strenuous session given their new manager’s intense reputation.

Instead, Tuchel focused on togetherness and explained that there was nothing to be afraid of. The starting line-up followed for the game the next day and off they went.

A new start. A new Chelsea.

Tuchel’s touch on Wolves stalemate

After condemning Lampard to his first consecutive defeats of the season, Wolves arrived at Stamford Bridge in slightly worse form opposed to when they hosted the west-Londoners five weeks earlier.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s men had recently struggled past non-league Chorley in the FA Cup and suffered back-to-back league defeats to Everton and West Bromwich Albion respectively.

However, Wolves did not fail to fulfil their party-pooping status limiting the Blues to just five shots on target, an Expected Goals (xG) rating of 0.68. 

From basic observation, the 0-0 draw seemed a fairly dull and forgettable affair. But that was no fault of Tuchel’s or Chelsea’s as Wolves’ produced a negative, 11-men-behind-the-ball performance at Stamford Bridge.

His team condemned the visitors to their own half for the majority but only really threatened in the latter stages when Mason Mount and Pulisic, initially substitutes, got in and behind between tiring defenders.

Mount, who captained Chelsea versus Luton in Lampard’s last outing, was particularly impressive achieving a key pass, winning two duels and completed five crosses in just eight minutes.

Credit: The Sun

The introduction of the two attackers is what marked Tuchel’s onlookers the most. Along with the switch to three at the back – a system he used in 13 Bundesliga games while at Borussia Dortmund though never at PSG with Callum Hudson-Odoi, the only academy graduate to start, operating as a wing-back – the decision to pull Ben Chilwell and Hakim Ziyech showed a glimpse of how tactically flexible and diverse he is.

Despite not scoring, the choice helped the team produce their best spell of the game instead of leaving them exposed.

As for the surprising inclusion of Hudson-Odoi at ring wing-back, it was clear the intention was always for him to play in his more familiar role higher up the pitch. Relentlessly pressing Rayan Ait-Nouri throughout, the 20-year old looked like a man who was out to impress.

So much so, it forced Nuno to sub the Frenchman and switch Nelson Semedo’s flank. In response, Tuchel made Hudson-Odoi swap sides to terrorise 19-year old Ki-Jana Hoever, the youngster signed from Liverpool in the summer who only 123 minutes of top-flight experience at right-back prior to the game.

In spite of there being no late reward to celebrate, Tuchel will regret not making the change sooner as Hudson-Odoi looked so close to finding a winner. He even found time to stop Wolves walking away with all three points with some phenomenal tracking back after 89 minutes of a hard shift – a tackle worthy of the man of the match award alone.

Credit: Metro

After the game, however, much noise was made about the 887 passes the Blue’s completed without breaking the deadlock  – the highest this season and the fourth-highest ever made in a Premier League fixture. 

An impressive stat given how little time Tuchel had to get his “positional play” ideas across. Having held the ball well, Chelsea only conjured five shots inside the box and created zero big chances. The term ‘risk-averse passing’ springs to mind. Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho, a well-tested pairing, the main culprits.

One thing that Tuchel clearly emphasised in his one training session – the counter-press, the fundamental part that the rest of his philosophy is built around.

Overall, Chelsea recorded 49 ball recoveries with nobody winning more than Antonio Rudiger’s 11. They also won 15 tackles, to the visitors’ five, and only once was a Blue’s player dispossessed.

There was no doubt frustration among the players in the dressing room after completely dominated from start to finish and having to be content with a draw. Kai Havertz coming close to winning it when he rose to meet Mount’s corner deep into stoppage time would only add to the disappointment.

Credit: Sports Illustrated

“When you sign for Chelsea, you sign for the hunger of titles… it doesn’t scare me.”

“The club made it very clear, Chelsea is about results. We always try to bring performance, develop players, improve players, and increase their value as well as [produce] strong performances.

Areas need improving, that is clear. Though, pundits and fans alike must remember if that dominate – yet benign – performance is the product of one training session, just imagine what Tuchel can do with a week, a month, a year…

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