Chelsea appointed Thomas Tuchel in January 2021 as their head coach after dismissing Lampard from the job. Lampard, a Chelsea legend, got off to a good start in his managerial career but soon failed miserably and was therefore fired from him.
Tuchel, since taking over as Chelsea manager, has been brilliant most of the time. First of all, in just 6 months, he led them to their second UCL title in the club’s history and also led them to the FA Cup final, but ultimately lost to Leicester.
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In his full season in charge, Tuchel’s Chelsea led the top league table until the end of December, but due to injuries to key players in the second half, he slipped. In the end, Chelsea finished third in the main league table. Tuchel also managed to lead Chelsea to two cup finals, the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup final, but lost both to Liverpool.
From the start of the new season, it seemed that Chelsea were faded. Chelsea had some tough games and lost 3 in a row which led to Thomas Tuchel being sacked. With Tuchel sacked, we decided to look for games where Tuchel’s Chelsea would dominate opponents and outclass them on their day.
5 times Chelsea outclassed opponents under Tuchel in UCL
1. Beat Atletico Madrid 3-0 on aggregate in R16 in 2020-21
Thomas Tuchel had just arrived in January and was facing tough competition in the Champions League, where he was forced to play two games against Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid in the round of 16. Tuchel’s Chelsea beat Simeone’s Atlético de Madrid. In the first leg, Chelsea sat deep and played on the counter most of the time. Giroud scored from a bicycle kick to give Chelsea the lead and in the second leg at home, Chelsea played the same tactic again and again outclassed Atletico Madrid completely.
Chelsea that day was much better with Tuchel’s back 3 being fluid and his pragmatic approach helped Chelsea get past Simone Atletico Madrid who drilled well defensively but Tuchel outplayed them with ease.
2. Beat Real Madrid in the second leg of the 2020-21 UCL semi-final
After beating Atlético de Madrid in the round of 16 and then Porto in the quarter-finals. Chelsea had their toughest test of all time when they faced Zidane’s Real Madrid in the semi-finals. Real Madrid are regular winners of the UCL and were regarded as Tuchel Chelsea’s toughest test yet.
Again the first leg was away from home in Madrid Tuchel took the same approach against Los Blancos. Chelsea reaped rewards from this approach: they finally got out of Madrid with a tough draw and, considering the second leg was at home, this draw was considered a win for Chelsea.
In the second leg, Chelsea were at their best. That day they completely surpassed Real Madrid. Chelsea did not allow Madrid to have the ball and dictate the game as the Madrid team likes to do in their matches. But Chelsea completely blocked Madrid’s wingers and their attacking exit was blocked, which stifled Madrid’s total and the result was a complete victory for Chelsea over Real Madrid.
3. Champions League Finals against Manchester City
One of the best games in the history of Chelsea. Chelsea was in the Champions League against a tough Manchester City. Thomas Tuchel had his number in Pep
Guardiola. Tuchel already defeated Pep in 2 games in the previous meetings. He forced Pep to do something outside the area and entered without a DM who played very well in Tuchel’s hand. Pep also came in without the proper number 9 and played KDB as a false 9, which again disconnected Manchester City’s flow of play and broke their fluid game.
Chelsea dominated Manchester City and eventually ended up winning their second Champions League in club history. Chelsea defeated Manchester City by a score of 1-0.
4. Defeat Juventus in the group stage match in 2021-22
Another splendid performance from Thomas Tuchel came for Chelsea against Juventus in the group stage. In their first meeting on Matchday 2, Juventus overcame Chelsea and defeated them. But in the second leg of matchday 5 when Chelsea faced Juventus at their stadium.
Chelsea dominated the game whether in defensive midfield or attack Chelsea were outstanding. They dominated the game at all ends of the field. They scored 4 goals past Juventus with ease.
5. Beat Malmo in the group stage in 2021-22
Another big win with Tuchel came in the UCL against Malmo. In the group stage of the UCL, he defeated Malmo by a wide margin of 4 goals. Against Malmo Chelsea it was just brilliant. They were everywhere in Malmo. Chelsea scored 4 goals with ease without breaking a sweat. Tuchel’s 3-4-2-1 system used in this game was too good for Malmo and Tuchel’s brilliance as a manager was once again at its peak.
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