Chelsea Tactical Analysis: Thomas Tuchel's First Month

It has been a tough couple of months for Chelsea. After a barrage of bad results, the much-beloved Frank Lampard was sacked from the manager's role. Chelsea has certainly got themselves a quality replacement in Thomas Tuchel, a coach who has proven himself at the highest level.

Under his tutelage, his former clubs Mainz, Borussia Dortmund, and Paris Saint-Germain have thrived and there's no doubt that he will have a similar impact at Chelsea. The early signs are promising and the Blues are yet to suffer a defeat after he took over at the helm.

In the latest episode of Talking Tactics, former Bangalore FC coach Pradhyum Reddy discusses players, tactics & more with Bollywood superstar and ardent Chelsea fan, Arjun Kapoor.

Thomas Tuchel is renowned for his tactical ability and adaptability with his in-game management having garnered a lot of praise for him over the years. Tuchel does not mind changing the formation during the game.

The German coach has a reputation for improving players as he is a coach first and a manager second. This is great news for Chelsea as they have a plethora of talent at their disposal and there are so many young players who are waiting to realize their potential. In that respect, there are not many coaches better than Tuchel.

Attacking players have burgeoned under him wherever he has gone. Chelsea, with the likes of Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and Tammy Abraham to name a few, stand to gain a lot from having Thomas Tuchel managing the side.

Pradhyum Reddy talks about how Thomas Tuchel has adapted to the task at hand at every club he has been at. He bases his philosophy on keeping ahold of the ball. It'd be fair to say that Tuchel opts for a possession-based game.

Chelsea had around 70% possession in his first game in charge against Wolverhampton Wanderers and the team completed around 800 passes. Tuchel defends with five players and attacks with the other five and whenever Chelsea foray forward, all their attacking player’s station in and around the box.

Due to the solidity of such a system, Chelsea is not susceptible to counter-attacks and always has enough players at the back to defend if the opposition breaks. Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea side has now kept three clean sheets in three games.

This is a great chance for Marcos Alonso to revive his Chelsea career as well given how Tuchel likes to use wing-backs over full-backs. The biggest takeaway, according to Pradhyum Reddy, is that Tuchel looks like a coach who can bring out the best in Kai Havertz and Timo Werner.

Tuchel has also managed Pulisic before and it looks like Chelsea fans are in for an exciting ride.

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