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Thomas Tuchel has transformed Chelsea into one of the strongest sides in Europe after they had endured a slew of bad results which eventually led to Frank Lampard's sacking. The German coach's devotion to his job and attention to detail has gone a long way towards turning Chelsea's season around.
The Blues face Leicester City in the FA Cup final tonight and they have also made it to the final of the UEFA Champions League. When Tuchel took charge of Chelsea, they were ninth in the Premier League table. They are currently fourth and are tipped to qualify for the Champions League next season with just two games remaining in the season.
Since Thomas Tuchel was appointed as the manager, Chelsea have played 26 matches, winning 17 and losing just three. They have also looked much stronger against the big sides and have already beaten the likes of Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid under the former Paris Saint-Germain gaffer.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the five ways in which Thomas Tuchel has transformed Chelsea.
#5 Thomas Tuchel's use of wing-backs
Most modern managers choose to play with full-backs. However, Tuchel prefers a three-man defense with wing-backs shuttling up and down the flanks. He has also used wide forwards in a bid to overload the flanks and stretch their opposition and it has worked to great effect for Chelsea.
Thomas Tuchel took note of Chelsea's extremely talented raft of wide players and brought the best out of all of them. Marcos Alonso had become a peripheral figure under Lampard as he had no use for wing-backs. Alonso is one of the best wing-backs in the world and loves to attack.
The German coach has even used Callum Hudson-Odoi as a wing-back. Reece James also seems to relish his role in a more advanced position. There is a focus on Chelsea keeping the ball in wider areas.
While the wide forwards keep the opposition full-backs occupied, Chelsea's wing-backs usually make overlapping or underlapping runs, posing all sorts of problems to opposition defenders.
#4 Chelsea's organization in attack and in defence
Thomas Tuchel has implemented a well-rounded, well-balanced system at Chelsea. His teams are extremely organized going forward and in defending and this has contributed immensely to Chelsea keeping 11 cleansheets in the Premier League since Tuchel took over.
Since the managerial change, Chelsea top the chart for the least number of goals conceded in the Premier League, shipping in just 10 goals in 17 matches. Thomas Tuchel's teams defend with five players and attack with five players.
This means that while the forwards and wing-backs all commit when the team's on the front foot, the defensive midfielders and defenders stay back. As a result, Chelsea are hardly ever vulnerable to counter-attacks. They always maintain a good shape and that's why it has been so hard to break the Blues down.
#3 Thomas Tuchel has revived crucial players
Frank Lampard did suffer a lot towards the end of his tenure at Chelsea. Even though the argument that he should have been given more time has some merit, it is a fact that he couldn't make the best use of the personnel at his disposal.
Thomas Tuchel has walked in and given everyone a chance to revive their Chelsea careers. As a result, players like Antonio Rudiger, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Marcos Alonso, who were all cast away under Lampard, have now become prominent members of the squad.
Rudiger had even come close to leaving Chelsea in January but he has since made the left centre-back position his own. Callum Hudson-Odoi has proven to be crucial to Chelsea's flexibility during games as he helps facilitate a transition from their 3-4-1-2 formation to a 3-4-2-1 system during the course of the game.
#2 Improving Chelsea's young players
Thomas Tuchel is famous for improving young players. He did it at Borussia Dortmund and he repeated it at Paris Saint-Germain. Chelsea have a plethora of young talent in their squad and under Tuchel, all of them have thrived.
Kai Havertz struggled under Lampard and was being slated for being an expensive flop. He has become one of Chelsea's best players in recent weeks. The same goes for Christian Pulisic, who is enjoying a new lease of life under Tuchel and has looked more threatening than ever under Tuchel.
Although Timo Werner's finishing still needs a lot of work, he has become better at other aspects of his game. Callum Hudson-Odoi, Reece James and Mason Mount have all shown a lot of improvement under Tuchel and there is no doubt that the German coach is the one to take this team forward.
#1 Flexibility and in-game management
Thomas Tuchel can be an animated presence on the touchline. With players like Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic fighting for a starting berth in the forward line, Tuchel has the freedom to make effective changes as the game progresses.
Kai Havertz can play as a centre-forward as well and this enables Tuchel to play Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic right behind him. The German coach shifts between a 3-4-2-1 and a 3-4-1-2 formation based on how the opposition responds to Chelsea's attackers.
In N'Golo Kante, Tuchel has a box-to-box midfielder who can contribute equally in attack and defense. Hence, if the Blues are in need of an extra man going forward, Kante will be given more attacking responsibilities like he was in both legs of their Champions League semi-final tie against Real Madrid.
Tuchel has been able to identify problems during the course of the game and make changes based on them. When Timo Werner was seen drifting to the left side far too often in the game against Everton in March, Tuchel screamed at him to get back into his position on the right.
Chelsea played out a 0-0 draw against Leeds United and on seeing Chilwell getting beaten twice by Raphinha, he urged his wing-back to get more serious. Though it was one of Chilwell's worst performances in a Chelsea shirt, he still went on to make more interceptions (4) than any other player on the pitch.
Tuchel is a great coach and he understands the game better than most. As a result, one can never write Chelsea off as they always have a lot of firepower on their bench and a manager who knows exactly who can make a difference.
