Chelsea FC: Thomas Tuchel satisfied with debut despite 0-0 – sport

Thomas Tuchel has done without blue make-up. Probably the only detail that the new Chelsea coach was missing in order to play the first competitive game at Stamford Bridge in full club gear. As if Tuchel had had as many products as possible in the club’s fan shop, he coached the league game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday evening in the club’s tracksuit, with a rain jacket, scarf and hat as accessories. Everything in blue, as befits the blues, printed with the club emblem and initials, “TT” for Thomas Tuchel.

In every interview, whether before or after the game, he was delighted with his work in the Premier League. His first appearance looked as if the engagement in London, initially fixed until 2022, was a stay at a spa after two and a half grueling years at Paris Saint-Germain, including discharge on Christmas Eve a month ago. With his permanent grin, Tuchel even outshone the goalless draw at the debut.

The rousing enthusiasm of the 47-year-old Tuchel seems to give Chelsea the much-needed ease, which was last lost under the ex-coach Frank Lampard, who was released on Monday. Suddenly, the burden of five defeats in eight league games was hardly noticeable, the team acted dynamically, happily and, above all, overwhelmingly superior: 820 passes and 78.9% possession, the best values ​​for a coach at his premier in the Premier League since 17 years.

Before kick-off there is a taste of Tuchel’s future work

The players seemed to want to indicate with their performances that the so far unsatisfactory season was not primarily due to them. Only the damned winning goal did not want to fall against the uncomfortable to play Wolves, whose coach Nuno Espírito Santo as substitute keeper of FC Porto absorbed the mindset of his teacher José Mourinho between 2002 and 2004. The closest to it was Kai Havertz with a header in the final minute, which was cleared on the goal line.

The 0-0 draws Chelsea in eighth place, eleven points behind leaders Manchester City. “I didn’t expect that we would be at this level after one training session and two meetings,” said Tuchel. He told everyone in the cabin that there was no room for disappointment and no room for doubt. On the contrary, he was “very happy” with the performance. And the championship? “Oh, it’s far away. We have to be realistic!”

He had arranged the best scene of the game himself before the start of the game. It was a taste of Tuchel’s future work in the supposedly best league in the world. When positioning on the field, Tuchel instructed his professionals to line up before kick-off in such a way that the formation indicated a normal 4-3-3 – as was also assumed when the score sheet appeared. He had previously reinforced the wrong track on the microphone of the pay-TV station BT Sport by happily agreeing to the questioner when she put that basic order into the room. With the start of the game the secret was revealed – and lo and behold, the proposed 4-3-3 turned out to be a 3-4-2-1, with an overstaffed midfield and only one winger.

Choosing the starting eleven was the trickiest task that Tuchel had to solve at his premiere. In contrast to Lampard, who left the established players out at the beginning of the season (and only built on them when it was too late), Tuchel strengthened the hierarchy in the squad by betting on the most influential players in the team.

Tuchel chooses “the most unfair starting XI”

In addition to the captain César Azpilicueta, who was downgraded under Lampard, he trusted the seasoned forces Thiago Silva and Antonio Rüdiger in defense, vice-captain Jorginho in midfield and the French world champion Olivier Giroud at the front. Behind him, the two playmakers Hakim Ziyech and Kai Havertz were allowed to let off steam. “We’re not where we belong. The expectations are high, the tension is high. That’s why we decided to have more experience,” explained Tuchel. He restricted his choice as “the most unfair starting XI” he would have ever made because after just one practice session there was no reason not to nominate a player.

A problem was hidden for Tuchel in dealing with the three German national players. Probably to anticipate possible rumors, possibly to give preference to his compatriots, Tuchel only called Rüdiger and Havertz into the starting eleven – there was no place for substitute Timo Werner. Instead of him played in the attack Giroud and later the substitute Tammy Abraham. The measure could also be justified by the fact that Werner could only have played his explosiveness to a limited extent because Wolverhampton barricaded himself almost continuously in the penalty area.

In the English press, Tuchel’s engagement was viewed critically, which is less due to reservations than to the departure from Lampard. Due to his long career as the club’s record scorer, Lampard maintains close contacts with the opinion-forming experts and newspapers on the island. Until the very end, they spoke out in favor of his whereabouts. The clearest expression was Harry Redknapp, former coach at Tottenham. “Who says Tuchel is a great coach? Winning titles with PSG in France doesn’t make you a great coach.” Redknapp, 73, is Lampard’s uncle.

On Thursday afternoon, Thomas Tuchel will be officially introduced at the Chelsea Football Club. He said the past few days were “crazy and surreal,” but now it’s “just unbelievable” to be here. “If the game was our starting point, I’m excited to see where we will end up,” said Tuchel. His confidence spoke for itself.