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Thomas Tuchel was reportedly left astounded on receiving the news of his immediate firing by Chelsea's new ownership on Wednesday (September 7).
After the Blues slumped to a 1-0 defeat against Dinamo Zagreb at the Stadio Maksimir in their UEFA Champions League opener on Tuesday, Tuchel was given his marching orders by Todd Boehly. It was the Blues' third defeat in five games across competitions.
This season, the west London outfit have had only three wins – against Everton, Leicester City and West Ham United – in the last month. Tuchel faced the sack after exactly 100 games - keeping 31 clean sheets in the first 50 and only 18 in the next 50. The Dinamo defeat was the last straw that broke the camel's back.
According to The Sun, Tuchel was hurried into a 10-minute call conference with the Chelsea hierarchy when he showed up at Cobham on Wednesday morning. Despite his pleas of offering him more time to turn thengs around at Stamford Bridge, he was shown the door - exactly 100 days into the club's new ownership.
The decision left the former Paris Saint-Germain manager 'totally shocked'. He collected his belongings and bade his goodbye to his support staff before leaving the training centre. Whether the players were present at the time of his departure is not unclear.
Announcing the decision of parting ways with Tuchel, the club released a statement on their official website, which read:
"Chelsea Football Club has today parted company with head coach Thomas Tuchel. On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, the club would like to place on record its gratitude to Thomas and his staff for all their efforts during their time with the club."
Tuchel, who replaced Frank Lampard in January last year, helped the Blues win the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League, the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2021 UEFA Super Cup.
According to The Telegraph, Boehly has identified Brighton & Hove Albion boss Graham Potter as the early favourite to replace Tuchel. Mauricio Pochettino and Zinedine Zidane are also on the radar.
Chelsea are sixth in the Premier League standings with ten points from six games. They will next lock horns with London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday (September 10).
Danny Murphy comments on Chelsea's decision to fire Thomas Tuchel
Speaking to talkSPORT, former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy shared his thoughts on Tuchel's sacking, terming it premature and a 'knee-jerk' reaction. He said:
"I'm really shocked, really surprised. I like him; he's intelligent; he's one of the top managers out there. I think it's too early, that's my gut feeling. I think it's a knee-jerk reaction to a game last night that they dominated and would have won nine times out of ten."
Tuchel led the Blues to a third-place finish in the Premier League last season despite the club's well-publicised ownership issues.
