Chelsea sacked coach Thomas Tuchel on Wednesday a day after his side lost 1-0 to Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener. The Premier League club have confirmed on their website that they have parted ways with the German manager who guided Chelsea to Champions League glory in their first season.
“On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, the club would like to express their gratitude to Thomas and his team for all their hard work during their time at the club,” the club said. “Thomas will rightfully have a place in Chelsea history having won the Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup in his time here.”
While Chelsea haven’t started the season particularly well, having lost two of their first six Premier League games, Tuchel’s exit is still a surprising move. He made an instant impact replacing Frank Lampard in January 2021, reviving the team’s Premier League season and taking them to the Champions League final where they beat Manchester City.
Under Tuchel, Chelsea also won the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup last season. Chelsea finished third in the Premier League last season as their expected challenge to Manchester City and domestic dominance from Liverpool failed to materialise.
They also reached the FA Cup and League Cup finals, losing to Liverpool on penalties each time. Tuchel, former manager of Paris St Germain and Borussia Dortmund, is the first managerial victim since new American owner Todd Boehly took over the club.
“As the new ownership group reaches 100 days since taking over the club and continues its hard work to move the club forward, the new owners believe now is the right time to make this transition,” the statement read. . The club’s fans were familiar with the sackings of managers during the long reign of former owner, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, but Tuchel’s departure after 99 games in charge of the club was unexpected.
Although there have been signs of stagnation, Chelsea have won just seven of their last 16 Premier League matches. Attention will now turn to Tuchel’s successor with former Tottenham Hotspur and PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino a likely target for the west Londoners.
“Chelsea’s coaching staff will support the team in training and preparing for our upcoming matches as the club moves quickly to appoint a new head coach,” the club said. “There will be no further comment until a new head coach is appointed.”
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