MASON’S HINT FOR DOUBTING THOMAS
Mount on too late to lift ponderous Blues
It was blocked by a head, maybe even Cesar Azpilicueta’s.
Nobody seemed to know quite what to do, so referee Andrew Madley blew the final whistle.
It ended a muddled first game for Thomas Tuchel and left Chelsea fans scratching their heads as much as ever.
“Why drop Mason Mount?” was probably the main question.
The eight-minute cameo the energetic substitute was given marked the only period the Blues posed any sort of threat.
And was that really Callum Hudson-Odoi being told to play as a wing-back?
Chelsea looked just like a team bereft of a strategy, having been forced to play for a new regime after only an hour-long practice session the night before.
The opening 45 minutes was one for the stattos, who could delight in calculating the Blues played more passes than any other top-flight team this season.
Sadly, they were passes in the Mastermind sense – the only thing to do when you have not got a clue what the answer is.
It was a shame because the new manager had delivered such a positive pre-match promise.
“We will attack and play brave football,” said Tuchel. “We’ll play for scoring and creating chances.”
Perhaps his team did not hear him. Perhaps the language problems run deeper than being able to tell Germans how to score in their native tongue.
Hudson-Odoi – the only academy graduate to make it into what Tuchel admitted was a deliberately “experienced” first line-up – tried his best wide on the right.
But too much of the possession around him was overly careful or just plain backwards.
It was not until the 42nd minute that either goalkeeper was called into action, and even then it came from a set-piece.
Antonio Rudiger’s header was firm from Hakim Ziyech’s freekick and Rui Patricio did well to keep it out. The second half was marginally better but Jorginho, in particular, was showing too much reluctance to shoot and the final Chelsea passes were not finding a man.
In the 71st minute it almost went completely wrong for Tuchel when Pedro Neto held off the home defence to dink the ball onto Edouard Mendy’s crossbar and behind.
Struggling to get the bravery he wanted from his players, Tuchel tried to introduce some with fresh tactics.
He brought on Christian Pulisic and Tammy Abraham and re-deployed Hudson-Odoi on the left wing.
With eight minutes to go, Mount came on and the young England midfielder immediately
forced a corner. This was the final push for Chelsea.
Hudson-Odoi, bombing forward, then hit a deflected shot that Patricio palmed away.
Mount broke through the Wolves defence, rode a challenge he could possibly have earned a penalty from and nearly forced an own goal with his cross.
But, at the other end, HudsonOdoi had to back-track to deny Willian Jose an excellent chance.
Ultimately, it was those two youngsters leading Chelsea out of their bewilderness. Perhaps all they need is a manager willing to give them their head?
They certainly gave Tuchel plenty to think about in the coming days.
And, dare it be said, Roman Abramovich too.