Tuchel’s Midas touch at Chelsea is total vindication of Abramovich and decision to ditch Lampard

Thomas Tuchel’s remarkable impact at Chelsea has put them within touching distance of an unlikely Champions League triumph and transformed a team which was in danger of becoming an expensively-assembled set of flops.

Saturday’s win at Premier League champions-elect Manchester City was the latest in a growing list of impressive achievements by Tuchel since the German took over from Frank Lampard at the end of January.

Up to third in the table, with an FA Cup final against Leicester City next weekend and a Champions League showpiece against Man City at the end of the month, life is good again at Stamford Bridge.

Tuchel has revitalized Chelsea. © Reuters

Even though Tuchel arrived with a reputation as among the most astute operators in world football, few would have imagined the effect he has had on the Chelsea ranks.

The London club have been turned into one of the toughest teams to beat on the continent, with Tuchel coaxing the best out of expensive summer signings, keeping faith in blue-blooded academy graduates, and reintegrating veterans sidelined under Lampard.

Setting aside the aberration of a home hammering by West Brom last month, Tuchel is unbeaten in his 15 other Premier League games in charge. The midweek defeat of Real Madrid booked Chelsea a first Champions League final in nine years, and victory over Pep Guardiola’s City on Saturday repeated a feat they had achieved in the FA Cup semi-final in April.

Stats widely shared on social media highlighted Tuchel’s record when taking on some of Europe’s finest names in the opposition dugout. In under four months at Chelsea, Tuchel’s men have defeated rivals led by Zinedine Zidane, Guardiola (twice), Jurgen Klopp, Diego Simeone (twice), Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti. The Blues’ defensive record is equally eye-catching, with 11 clean sheets in 16 Premier League games under the German.

It's a far cry from the doom-laden final days of Lampard’s tenure. Among the lows on a slippery descent down the table was Chelsea’s 3-1 home defeat to Man City on January 3. That performance – and the gulf in class that day in London – hammered home just how far away Chelsea were from the Premier League’s elite outfit.

Fast forward to Saturday, and even with two teams reshuffled substantially from their midweek Champions League heroics, it was evident that Chelsea can mix it with Guardiola's men again as something approaching their equals.

Tuchel and Chelsea earned another win over Guardiola and Manchester City. © Reuters

Tuchel is rightly taking credit, but plaudits should also be reserved for the man who made the decision to put him in the dugout. With each passing week, the move by Blues owner Roman Abramovich to bid farewell to Lampard looks increasingly vindicated.   

‘Ruthless’ has become a cliché when matched with Abramovich, but other owners may have hesitated over pulling the trigger, hoping wishfully that as a club legend with credit in the bank from a respectable first season as manager, Lampard could turn things around.

In reality, that never appeared likely. Instead, the £220 million outlay on new talent sanctioned by Abramovich in the summer looked increasingly in danger of going to waste as Chelsea appeared unlikely even to secure a top four finish. It was a painful decision, but Lampard had to go and the Russian oligarch knew it. 

Chelsea owner Abramovich handed Lampard his marching orders. © Reuters

It’s still early days under Tuchel, and Chelsea could yet end the season empty-handed, but the signs are that the German appears the perfect fit in West London.

Reportedly growing tired of the political wranglings behind the scenes at former club PSG, Tuchel is said to have been handed the simple remit of bringing titles to the Bridge, and everyone else will just leave him to it. For a man who just wants to coach, that should suit Tuchel right down to the training ground.

Indeed, Tuchel recently admitted he has no contact with his billionaire Russian boss – but that fact is of little issue to the 47-year-old.

“I am pretty sure that he likes what he sees and he likes the results, and this is what he deserves,” Tuhchel said before his team prepared to play City at the weekend.

Tuchel is one of the most respected in the game. © Reuters

For Chelsea fans looking for good omens, there have been numerous signs that this could be their year in Europe. The last time they won the Champions League in 2012, a manager came in midway through the season (Roberto Di Matteo replacing Andre Villas-Boas) before seeing off Spanish giants in the semi-finals (on that occasion Barcelona).

Say what you want about Abramovich’s hire-and-fire culture, but it has paid dividends before for his club, and now has them within reach of a second Champions League title.

After delaying Man City’s Premier League coronation on Saturday, attention inevitably shifted to what that match could tell us about the looming showpiece between the pair on May 29, scheduled for Istanbul but which could be moved to UK shores.

“The win gives us confidence but, as I have said before, this result will not change the [Champions League] final,” Tuchel said afterwards. “The final is a very unique game and you cannot predict what will happen.

“You need to be well prepared, we will have some changes again, they will have some changes again, but we will arrive with the knowledge we are capable of beating City.”

Both coaches rang the changes, with Guardiola making nine swaps in his starting 11 from the team which overcame Paris Saint-Germain and Tuchel changing five faces in his line-up. Rare starts were handed to the likes of Nathan Ake for City and young Billy Gilmour for Chelsea.

The result could have panned out very differently had Sergio Aguero not made an embarrassing hash of his Panenka penalty attempt, but Chelsea showed grit and stamina – hallmarks under Tuchel – to get themselves back into the game after going a goal down, then winning it with a late scuffed strike from Marcos Alonso.

The Spaniard is indicative of Tuchel’s magic touch, having been sidelined under Lampard but brought back into the fold under the German. Elsewhere, expensive summer arrival Kai Havertz – an unused substitute against City – has started to show more consistent glimpses of his stellar potential. Fellow German arrival Werner remains infuriating in front of goal, but his willing running to aid Chelsea’s winner on Saturday shows his value to the team even when not scoring.   

Continuing a trend started by Lampard, Tuchel has continued to rely heavily on midfield maestro Mason Mount. He has also shown tough love but a tender touch when needed, as evidenced by his remonstrations and bearhug with Callum Hudson-Odoi at the final whistle against City.

N’Golo Kante’s return to full fitness has no doubt helped Tuchel’s cause, with the Frenchman being immense in recent weeks and likely holding the key to a successful conclusion to the season.

But whether it’s rotating players for games like Saturday’s or making calls on the starting XI for crunch Champions League meetings, Tuchel has consistently got the personnel and gameplan spot on for his team. He is setting them up for success in a way that Lampard increasingly failed to do.

For his part, Guardiola vowed to learn lessons after the latest loss to Tuchel and Co, and his team will have been given plenty to chew over before they meet Chelsea again. 

You would back the Catalan to do just that, and it’s worth remembering that City were without key man De Bruyne, absent from the matchday squad, while the cavalry of Phil Foden and Ilkay Gundogan – so impressive this season – only arrived late in the game. Riyad Mahrez didn’t rise from the bench at all.

Both teams will make big changes for May 29, and there is still plenty of football to be played before then. Saturday did not provide answers to many of the questions fans and pundits were clamoring for ahead of the Champions League final.

What it did do, however, was offer yet more proof – if it were needed – of just how revitalized Chelsea are under Tuchel, and what a large threat they pose to sinking City’s dream of a first ever Champions League title.  

For that, Abramovich deserves a fair share of the credit for the step he made to dispense with Lampard and install the German in the dugout .