Chelsea 0-0 Wolves: Talking points from Thomas Tuchel's first game with the Blues

The mood before the Chelsea v Wolves game was an anxious one. Club legend Frank Lampard was jettisoned out to make way for ex-PSG manager Thomas Tuchel only a couple of days ago.

Both the Chelsea board and the fans would've expected an immediate uptick in form after the appointment. They just had two wins from the last eight league fixtures.

Stamford Bridge was the setting for the German's first outing as the Chelsea manager and the world looked on as he selected his first XI:

Tuchel's side bossed the possession tonight with 79% of the ball, but had very few chances to show for it. Just five shots on target, and only two of them looked like they might actually go in.

Wolves' defence was incredibly resilient, with mostly everyone but Neto in their own half to slow down the barrage of Chelsea attacks.

Wolves didn't offer much on the attacking front themselves as the match finished in a goalless draw.

Here are the talking points from the fixture.

---

#1 Chelsea's change of style

Under Lampard, Chelsea's approach in attack and defence used to be markedly different than what we saw from Tuchel's first outing.

Chelsea's backline was set-up with a more defence first approach despite Chelsea having the lion's share of the ball.

Chilwell struggled tonight to get a grip on the tasks assigned to him by his new boss

Azpilicueta over Reece James meant less penetration down the right flank too, but the general idea seems pretty clear.

Tuchel wants his full-backs to provide defensive stability over attacking output.

The midfield was set up more to accommodate the mercurial Kai Havertz, with Jorginho and Kovacic sitting behind him to dictate play from deep.

The signs look promising but Giroud's lack of incisiveness and mobility hindered Chelsea's play instead of helping it.

---

#2 Chelsea's pass frenzy

Chelsea recorded a total of 433 passes completed in the first 45 minutes of the game.

Whilst most of the passes didn't have much intent going forward, they were an outlier of what is to come for Chelsea.

The Blues played crisp short passes with each player always having options to pass sideways, forward or backward.

Lampard's fairytale had a tragic ending, but from its ashes may yet rise a new vibrant Chelsea that could become a neutral's fantasy.

#3 Kai Havertz's showing signs of life

Putting in arguably one of the best displays of his short stint at Chelsea, Kai Havertz looked every bit the player that Chelsea broke the bank for last summer.

He made those blazing runs into the box both with and without the ball that became his trademark whilst at Leverkusen.

His performance didn't get the goal it deserved due to blocks by Dendoncker and Willian Jose (the latter a rather fabulous and unexpected one).

Havertz could really find his rhythm again and show the world why his talent warrants to have a team built around it

With the arrival of Tuchel, we may see a system finally be put in place to get the most out of Chelsea's big-name arrivals, something we failed to see under Lampard.

---

#4 Wolves' problems up-front

Wolves have grown into one of the most likeable outfits in the Premier League since their promotion.

They have one of the best managers around in Nuno Espirito Santo, and have gained a reputation as giant killers when on song.

Raul Jiminez's absence continues, and his absence is felt more keenly against bigger teams, who leave more gaps to exploit, allowing Wolves to flow the way they do in big games

That's the thing though, their attack, rather their team, has not been on song for a while now.

Summer signing and wonderkid Fabio Silva has been patchy, as one should expect from a teenager in their first year in a new country.

Raul Jiminez's output was not replaced by the combo of Neto and Adama, neither in attack nor in defence.

Willian Jose's cameo off the bench was uneventful in terms of attacking output, though he did save his team from losing with a goal-line clearance late in stoppage time.

Hopefully his signing can help things settle down in attack at least till Raul gets back from a horrendous injury.

---

#5 Chelsea's charge for Europe in doubt?

Tonight's goalless draw leaves Chelsea 8th in the table, having accumulated 30 points from 20 games.

Their results of late had been miserable. Had it been anyone other than Lampard, he'd have gotten the sack a couple months ago at the first signs of trouble.

Tuchel is surely in for the biggest challenge he has faced in his career so far, with expectations higher than ever before

With teams above them getting their act together, we could be looking at the prospect of Chelsea not qualifying for the Champions League by the end of the season.

That may sound incredibly harsh, but with United, City, Liverpool, Spurs and even Arsenal (lately) looking to push for results, that could be a reality.

Tuchel needs to find a winning formula. It's an unenvious task that he's taken on at Chelsea.

He could come out of it with his reputation damaged if he can't steady the ship. Or he could re-establish himself as part of the conversation where people speak about some of the best coaches in the world.