European Supercup: Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel face the difficult challenge of confirmation

So far, everything is going wonderfully for Thomas Tuchel. Arrived in Chelsea at the end of January 2021, the German technician experienced the start of a London adventure that he could hardly have imagined more successful, including in his wildest dreams. A journey started with a series of 14 games without defeat, marked by a rise in the Top 4 in the Premier League and, above all, magnified by a final victory in the Champions League. All in just four months, and just after being unceremoniously disembarked from PSG.

“How could I have started so well? Frankly, I don’t know, the person confessed to the UEFA website. Before, I thought it was never an ideal scenario to arrive in the middle of the season, but maybe this was a good thing. Finally, I found a well structured club, a high level organization, a very open and ambitious team, and a lot of support at the highest level, and that made it very easy for us. ” A new mission, certainly more difficult, awaits him from now on: to confirm.

It all starts this Wednesday, in Belfast (9 p.m.), with the European Supercup as a backdrop and Villarreal as the first opponent of this new season. A 2021-2022 exercise that the Blues are attacking with gusto, necessarily. “We want to win a title, any one. The C1 would be the best, but the Premier League is also a big goal”, said Timo Werner, in comments relayed by AFP.

Such an ambition does not seem disproportionate, a fortiori if we take a look at the list of players who make up the workforce. It’s simple, it has not lost any notable element since the beginning of the summer, with the exception of Olivier Giroud, Victor Moses and Fikayo Tomori, who did not fit into the plans anyway. their trainer. If things remain as they are, Tuchel can therefore continue to bet on the wall Édouard Mendy in the goal, the immutable defensive base with three axial, the essential N’Golo Kanté-Jorginho pair in the midfield and the multiple offensive cartridges at his disposal.

A trying summer for executives

The offensive sector, in fact, was sometimes deficient last season, like a Werner deficient in the finish. To remedy this, the London leaders are said to be on the verge of spending 115 million euros in order to enlist one of the references to the position of number 9, namely Romelu Lukaku. According to the BBC and the Daily Mail, the Belgian striker is indeed very close to Chelsea, whose colors he had already worn – without much success at the time – from 2011 to 2014.

The Belgian striker would therefore bring even more sparkle to an already very successful starting XI until then. It remains to be seen whether the exceptional momentum of last spring was not shattered by summer. Between the Euro (Jorginho, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Mount, to name just a few of those who joined the last four) and the Copa América (Thiago Silva), many are the executives of the team not to have not much blown in June and July. The summer preparation took place without them and their coach recovered them as they went, in disparate states of form.

Settle in the long term in Chelsea? Anything but obvious

“We want to be as efficient as possible, and it’s complicated, breathed the Swabian during an interview granted to the official website of his club. This is not a cry for help, nor an excuse, but just reality. And that’s anything but optimal. “ The recent winners of the C1 will however very quickly get back into the mix. After the European Supercup, they will be entitled to a hearty menu in the Premier League, including trips to Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham during the first five days.

Suffice to say that in the event of a sluggish start, the euphoria at the end of May could give way to concern on the side of Stamford Bridge. Especially since Roman Abramovich is not known to show great patience vis-à-vis the managers installed on the bench. Frank Lampard, Maurizio Sarri, Guus Hiddink, Rafael Benitez, André Villas-Boas, Roberto di Matteo (also crowned in the Champions League) … The examples of coaches who have given up their place after a year and a half or less are legion . Tuchel knows it, anything can go very quickly. Either way.