EPL: Thomas Tuchel’s first game at Chelsea ends in stalemate
Just a day after he is appointed, Frank Lampard’s replacement at Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel, kicked off managerial duties on Wednesday after conducting one training session with his new team. Tuchel’s first day at Chelsea wasn’t quite as pleasing as he had hoped, as Wolves held Chelsea to a frustrating draw at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel might not have secured three points, but he sure didn’t drop all three, and he did set some new record on his first day. Chelsea had 78.9% possession and completed 820 passes against Wolves.
Since the start of 2003/04, a team’s highest totals in their manager’s first Premier League match in charge.
Both teams had solid chances to find the back of the net. Still, between Wolves’ keeper Rui Patricio producing good saves and strikers on both ends hitting the bar and taking miscalculated shots, one can say a draw, a goalless one that was best for the efforts of the home team and the visitors.
With the result, Thomas Tuchel is the first Chelsea manager since Rafael Benitez in November 2012 to draw his first game in charge of the club, which was also a 0-0 at Stamford Bridge against Manchester City.
Wolves had been without a top-flight win since 15 December. For a team that seems slightly out of confidence and has been struggling since their best striker, Raul got injured early into the season, and the game can be an excellent game to take something home, but it wasn’t this game, unfortunately. But they can try again when they take on Crystal Palace on Saturday.
While Tuchel will lead his boys for the second time at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, as they welcome Burnley, he would have more time to train with them, so he’d be looking to fix what didn’t sit well on Wednesday and have a much better second game.
Tuchel hasn’t introduced himself badly; we wait to see how far the new Blues boss can and will go.
EVERTON vs. LEICESTER
Meanwhile, somewhere in Merseyside, Everton and Leicester also shared the spoils with a 1-1.
However, the result was more favorable for third-placed Leicester, who haven’t lost their last seven EPL games, their longest run without defeat since December 2019.
For their next games, Everton will play host to Newcastle in the early game on Saturday, while Leicester will entertain Leeds United on Sunday at the King Power Stadium.
