New era at Stamford Bridge
Thomas
Chelsea appointed Thomas Tuchel as manager in January 2021 after they sacked former Blues midfield legend Frank Lampard. Thomas Tuchel immediately made Chelsea harder to breakdown as they only conceded two goals in their knockout stage games to reach the 2020/2021 Champions League Final. Chelsea had a fantastic finish to the 2020/2021 season which included winning the Champions League and securing a fourth-place finish in the Premier League. Tuchel also achieved in getting Chelsea to the 2020/2021 Fa Cup Final with narrowly losing out 1-0 to Leicester City in Wembley Stadium.
Summer
There was more pressure on Thomas Tuchel before the start of the 2021/2022 Premier League season as he had a full pre-season with The Blues. Romelu Lukaku resigned for Chelsea in the 2021 Summer Transfer Window from Inter Milan for £97.5 million. Tuchel found it hard to get the best out of Lukaku as he only scored 15 goals in all competitions throughout 2021/2022. Lukaku’s poor form didn’t stop Chelsea winning games as they were in second place of the 2021/2022 Premier League season on 42 points after a 1-1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion on 29th of December 2021.
Headache
Tuchel was dealt a massive blow as Lukaku dropped a Bombshell on December 31st 2021 about his love to return to Inter Milan. Trying to keep Lukaku happy was difficult for Tuchel but Chelsea manager was dealt an even bigger blow with owner Roman Abramovich forced to sell the club in March 2022 due to his connection with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tuchel didn’t let it be a distraction as Chelsea were unfortunate not to reach the 2021/2022 Champions League Semi-Final due to a late comeback by Real Madrid in the Quarter-Final. Chelsea made it difficult to finish in the top four of the 2021/2022 Premier League after losing 4-2 at home against Arsenal in April but finished the season strong with three wins and draws to finish in third place.
New owner
In May 2022 it was confirmed that Todd Boehly bought Chelsea for £4.25 billion. Tuchel was under pressure before the 2022/2023 Premier League started as The Blues spent £272 million in this Summer’s Transfer Window. Chelsea made a statement of intent in this Summer’s Transfer Window as they signed Leicester defender Wesley Fofana on a seven-year contract for £75 million. Boehly was showing everybody how big money can persuade players from Leicester to join Chelsea.
Season
Chelsea started the 2022/2023 Premier League with a 1-0 win against Everton at Goodison Park. Their first big test of the season came in a London derby against Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge. This was a frantic match as Tuchel lost his temper which resulted in getting sent off. Chelsea squandered a lead and ended up drawing 2-2 against Spurs but Tuchel’s worst performance as manager came when they got hammered 3-0 by Jesse Marsch’s Leeds United at Elland Road. The attitude of the Chelsea players was questioned after their performance against Leeds as Leeds ran 10.5 kilometres more than The Blues.
Response
Chelsea responded after this defeat with beating Leicester City 2-1 at home. They suffered another defeat as Southampton beat Chelsea 2-1 at ST Mary’s. Chelsea was fortunate to beat West Ham by 2-1 at home due to VAR disallowing David Moyes men a goal. The final straw for Tuchel was when Chelsea was beaten 1-0 by Dinamo Zagreb. Chelsea announced on Wednesday 8th of September 2022 that they sacked Thomas Tuchel as manager.
Finally
In my opinion it was harsh that Thomas Tuchel got sacked as Chelsea only lost two games after playing six games of the 2022/2023 Premier League. Even though they lost their first 2022/2023 Champions League match it was drastic that he lost his job. As a big Premier League fan it’s sad to see Thomas Tuchel leaving England for now. Graham Potter has been announced as new manager of Chelsea but not sure if he is good enough to be successful at Stamford Bridge.
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