Why Chelsea Sacked Thomas Tuchel

Just seven games into the 2022-23 season, Thomas Tuchel, at the age of 49, has become one of the first significant managerial casualties.

The new owners of Chelsea decided to sack Tuchel early on. Tuchel’s last game in charge of the Blues was a disappointing 1-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb on the road in the Champions League.

Continuing their transformation and “taking the club ahead,” the Chelsea owners felt it was “the proper moment” to split ways with Tuchel, as explained in the club’s statement on the matter.

In addition to affecting the betting practices of many football fans, Chelsea’s recent struggles on the field have been very disappointing. So why exactly did Chelsea sack Thomas Tuchel? Why was his time up all of a sudden?

For his time at Chelsea, Tuchel had an impressive 60 percent victory rate (60 wins in 100 games across all competitions). The loss to Dinamo Zagreb was only Tuchel’s 16th as Blues manager since he took over in January 2021.

Recent Chelsea results for Tuchel as coach

It was expected that the German would spearhead a serious challenge for the Premier League championship as European champions Chelsea began the 2021-22 season. Indeed, by December 2021, the Blues were on top of the league. However, things quickly deteriorated that year, beginning with a narrow defeat to West Ham that set the tone for an unimpressive holiday run that included losses to Everton, Wolves, and Brighton.

Tuchel helped turn around their fortunes in early 2022, but by then it was too late, and they were constantly playing catch-up to Man City and Liverpool, who were racing away from the pack. In April of 2022, they lost four goals to Brentford and three goals to Arsenal at home in the league, then they lost three goals to Real Madrid in the Champions League, ending their bid for a European championship.

Third place in the league was an improvement from the previous year, but after leading for so long, Chelsea fans were still let off.

Tuchel was fired after leading the squad through the first seven games of the 2022–23 season (3 wins, 1 tie, 3 losses). The Blues have dropped to sixth position in the Premier League after losing to Leeds and Southampton.

Major transfer expenditures failed to inspire team improvement

This summer, Chelsea spent an unprecedented £278.4 million on ten new players, making headlines as Europe’s most ambitious club.

Todd Boehly, in his role as temporary sporting director, was mostly responsible for business, but Tuchel’s imprint could be seen on Chelsea’s dealings, especially the acquisition of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a 33-year-old striker from Barcelona.

It was ridiculous to expect Tuchel to mold his new-look squad into a successful unit so soon after the transfer window closed, and the early signs weren’t positive.

The decision to start Aubameyang in Croatia was inexplicable, and it wasn’t just Koulibaly’s new £75 million defensive partner Wesley Fofana who was to blame for the goal.

While the early results haven’t been great, Chelsea’s new owners are confident that they had a great transfer window and that a change at head coach will inspire substantial performance from the players.