From poor to powerful: How Thomas Tuchel saved Chelsea’s season in blink of an eye

Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, released a short statement after Frank Lampard was sacked in January. What followed the sacking was an immense backlash from the fans, who heavily criticised Chelsea’s controversial hiring-and-firing policy. 

This was amplified by the love and respect that fans held for Lampard, the greatest player in the cub’s history. 

But despite a brilliant first season, it must not be forgotten that Lampard’s second season had been quite poor.

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After spending several hundred million in the summer, Chelsea’s progress indicated the trend of a club going stale. Chelsea ranked eighth in the Premier League, a mammoth 11 point behind league leaders, and recent losses to Arsenal, Manchester City, and Leicester had made matters go from bad to worse.

Chelsea are well known for firing managers the moment a bad patch appears, and Lampard, regardless of his history at the club, had to face that very axe.

Fast forward three months, Chelsea sit fourth on the Premier League points table and have qualified for the finals of both the Champions League as well as the FA Cup. The comeback has been fantastic, and Chelsea has beaten some of England and Europe’s greatest clubs in the process.

So how did Chelsea transform a lost season into one for history?

In his first game as the Chelsea manager, Tuchel changed the team formation from 4-3-3 to 3-4-2-1. 

This formation change has been singlehandedly responsible for solving a large part of Chelsea’s problems. In a three-defender formation, Chelsea has defended well, conceding the fewest goals in the league since Tuchel’s signing. 

The defenders have given excellent individual performances, with Christensen, Rudiger, and Azplicueta making their way back to the starting 11 after being exiled by Lampard.

In the midfield, a varying duo of Kante, Kovacic, and Jorginho has effectively bossed Liverpool, Manchester City, and Atletico Madrid, beating the press in a highly efficient manner and producing match-winning passes (for example, Jorginho’s assist to Mount in the Porto first leg).

Perhaps, the most important aspect of Tuchel’s formation is his use of wingbacks. Alternating between Reece James, Azplicueta, and Hudson-Odoi on the right, and Chilwell and Alonso on the left, the wingbacks have had a bigger role to play in both the attacking and defensive domains of the game as compared to any other position. 

When defending, they drop back to make it a five-defender formation (5-3-2) which has allowed the outside CBs more positional freedom. 

Attacking-wise, they drive forward and practically play as wingers in a 3-2-2-3 formation. This has allowed Chilwell, Alonso, Hudson-Odoi, and James to produce countless clutch moments. 

This is very important because, under Lampard, Chelsea’s main weakness was breaking low-blocks, with very limited attacking options and which resulted in low-scoring matches, often draws. 

Tuchel found a way around this by his use of the wingbacks and effectively playing five forwards, with Jorginho and Kovacic from the midfield delivering excellent diagonal passes all over the pitch. 

Needless to say, Tuchel used Conte’s blueprints at Chelsea, refined them, and enabled a demotivated squad to overcome its demons.

Chelsea’s best player under Tuchel has been the same as under Lampard: Mason Mount. 

He deserves a separate analytical piece of his own, but to give you an idea, he has been Chelsea’s most consistent player overall, creating a large number of chances when playing at the CAM position, scoring crucial goals, and keeping the team afloat even in harsh circumstances. 

He currently stands fourth in the PL in terms of big chances created and has delivered about 25 passes into the final third each game. 

These are exceptional statistics, and Mount’s defensive and possessive contributions have been equally good. His character as a leader on the pitch was visible when he came on as a substitute against West Brom, and regardless of the fact that Chelsea still lost, the team played two different matches before and after his arrival.

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Strong defensive shape, effective attacking options, keeping possession, and breaking press have been characteristic of Tuchel’s Chelsea. 

He has played counterattacking tactics against the big dogs (i.e. Manchester City, Liverpool, etc.) while dominating possession against low-block teams. His capability to mold the tactics on basis of the fixture has made Chelsea a truly unpredictable team.

Pundits have placed their bets on Chelsea to take the Premier League throne from Manchester City next season. 

Even though there are plenty of areas that still need to be fixed (for instance, the striker position is practically vacant right now), Chelsea, with the right mentality and game plan can dominate both England and Europe next season. 

If this happens, then the incredible revival of a club in a bit of a rut could become a story worth telling.