Is Tuchel the best at the moment?

LONDON. — As soon as Chelsea lifted the Champions League trophy in Porto, talk began of an impending English Premier League title challenge.

Thomas Tuchel’s tactical victory over Pep Guardiola clearly signified, if not the passing of the torch, at least, the beginning of a new rivalry at the top of English football.

But, there were many detractors. Pundits argued that his meticulously designed team shape was a little rigid to grind out results throughout a 38-game league campaign.

And, understandably, they pointed to a record of 38 points from 19 Premier League matches as reason to bet against Chelsea finishing above Manchester City, Liverpool, and Manchester United.

Surely, those doubters are now satisfied that Tuchel’s Chelsea are the real deal.

His first six months in charge were all about laying the foundations — nailing the basic components of his structure — and that is why Chelsea sometimes looked a bit stiff, prone to drawing against mid-table opposition.

Over the summer, Tuchel has added the details, the frills and the finesse, to that foundation to create a team with a tactical variety and depth to put them among the frontrunners.

Already, just five games into the new English Premier League season, we have ample evidence that Chelsea have moved to another level since the Champions League final in May.

First, it’s worth revisiting exactly what Tuchel wants from his Chelsea team and the tactical vision he managed to imprint on the side within weeks of his appointment.

He demands a hard press from his players from within an ultra-compact 3-4-2-1 formation, which means constantly minimising space between the lines when off the ball; a high defensive line and a precisely-choreographed pressing system is used to force the opponent into conceding possession long before they have the chance to build territory or launch counter-attacks.

This is married with a desire to play very quickly through the lines, with Chelsea expecting to hit vertical passes in behind opposition defenders and midfielders at every opportunity – making Tuchel closer to a Jurgen Klopp than a Guardiola.

During sustained periods of possession (it can’t always be 100 miles an hour) the aim is to suddenly play crossfield passes, dragging the opponent from one side of the pitch before switching to the vacated flank.

The 3- 4- 2- 1 helps both attacking styles. Using inside forwards, who generally stay close to the striker, provides more straight passes through the pitch (especially when the high press leads to a turnover) while the deployment of wing-backs ensures Chelsea have excellent depth and width, making them very difficult to read and always available for a diagonal switch.

However, only in the possession phase and high-pressing phase did Chelsea really succeed last season.

In 2021-22, the other elements have started to come together.

The best example of Chelsea’s growth this season was in the only game they did not win.

Against Liverpool, Tuchel used his default latter-stages Champions League tactics in a Premier League encounter as Chelsea sat back, limiting space in their own third and frustrating their hosts by refusing to engage higher up the pitch.

Going down to 10 men did not cause this approach but merely exacerbated it; Tuchel’s side were already holding just 37 per cent possession before the red card. — Goal.com.