Since last season's temporary firefighting and taking over as the team legend as manager, Tuchel has experienced the highlight of his life, and the moment he led the team to the highest podium in Europe, he has achieved success and reputation. Abu, the owner who has always supported the team, is naturally excited, and after a large investment, they expect more. However, after a good start, the Blues took the initiative to "step on the brakes", the stability of the game was greatly reduced, it took a lot of effort to win, and it was still difficult for the forward to score goals. What the hell is wrong with them? What problems is Tuchel trying to solve? How should the team deal with the difficult february attack?
The data is two teams: clean sheets become difficult
If you ask fans at the start of the season who are the strong contenders for the new league title, the Blues are bound to be an important option. After Tuchel temporarily took over the manager position last season, he adjusted the defense during the run-in period, maintained enough stability during the aggressive period, and the team won the Champions League trophy steadily and stunned the world. After the summer window was vigorously supplemented, they could even come up with two sets of squads that were enough to start the Premier League, with a strong foundation. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to think of them as top "princes". The Blues have high ambitions.
The start was also true. After narrowly defeating the yellow submarine Villarreal on a penalty 7-6, the Blues won the Super Cup trophy and officially started their new journey. In the first two rounds of the Premier League, they kept clean sheets against Crystal Palace, Arsenal, and drew with Liverpool in the third round, and they also won all the results in the next four games, and the team played very well. The 1-0 defeats to Manchester City and Juventus were seen as a "technical pullback" and there were not many people worried about them at the time. The subsequent 12 unbeaten games (10 wins and 2 draws) also confirmed this view. The Blues are galloping in their own orbit.
The problem started in December. Since being killed by Masuyaku, the Blues seem to have lost their "soul", injured more and more, and the overall stability has declined sharply, whether it is against weak brigades or strong dialogue, it seems that it is no longer so reliable. If attack is Chelsea's "old problem", it is understandable; then Tuchel's defensive skills have indeed slipped a lot. Statistics show that in the first 10 games of the Premier League, they have kept a clean sheet on their opponents 7 times; but in the recent 13 games, only 2 have done so. This huge difference is enough to prove it.
After a 1-0 loss to Manchester City, they again failed to take three points from the weak brighton, and after slamming on the brakes, they have already conceded the top and second places in the table, falling to the third place. The Last 4 League Games Blues have drawn 3 draws and 1 loss, and the last 7 league rounds have only won 1 (3-1 Villa). That's certainly not what Tuchel and the players want, and certainly not what boss Abu wants to see. The Pressure on the Blues is not small, and Tuchel needs to change immediately.
Problem 1: The huge constraints of the lack of offensive strength
The Blues' problems on the offensive line are not new drawbacks that are only exposed at this time. In recent seasons, their top scorers have really not played well enough, much worse than the shining names in the club's history, and even compared to the previous "normal" level, there may be a gap. However, fortunately, the stability of the team at that time was enough, and the overall situation could ensure sufficient mobility, and the disadvantages could be made up as much as possible, so that this deficiency was no longer infinitely magnified, and the data and achievements were still relatively good.
Last season, the team's first goal scorer was Giogenho, who played at the back, and the goals he scored were all penalties. This is a "strange" record for the world-class king who has won the Champions League trophy. In fact, at the beginning of that season, the team tried to make up for it, and had already purchased Bundesliga attacking players such as Havertz and Werner, but there was a gap between the play and expectations, and it was difficult to really play a role in the attack end, so that the problem of attack fatigue was the same, and the overall efficiency was not high.
This season, inspired by the trophy, Abu bought Romeu Lukaku, who played brilliantly at Inter and regained confidence. The return of the team's former youngsters, coupled with the proven ability to maintain peak form, fans have high expectations. Lukaku's muscular body and tank-like kicks seem to be a great solution to the team's weak attack. Tuchel hand-picked, the club invited, the Belgian did not refuse, it seems so logical. At that time, the media and fan circles were also excited. The Blues want to "take off again"?
Lukaku scored his debut goal on his debut, although it was a "leak" but it was also very exciting. The next few games were also played online, 3-0 win over Villa, 1-0 to Zenit, Lukaku has also been rated as the best of the game, and the Blues are also very comfortable. But since then, the tacit cooperation between each other has suddenly been inaccurate, and the next 12 Premier League games, 3 Champions League games, and 3 cup games Lukaku only scored 3 goals, and the personal rating of 6.0 or even 5.8 is also "not uncommon". Lukaku suffered an embarrassing loss of the Blue Bridge, and the Blues striker who had only found the crosshairs was once again inaccurate.
For Brighton, the comparison of several sets of data shows that the Blues' attack firepower is low
Subsequently, Tuchel also considered adjusting the lineup, such as trying out the "no front" to stimulate the vitality of the whole team. This move did have subtle effects, but it also disturbed Lukaku's heart. Some of the words in the social media and interviews have been widely interpreted by the media, causing a lot of turmoil. Although the end was still "peaceful" and "over", unpleasantness still occurred. The root cause lies in poor state and play. The same is true of Havertz and Werner, the brothers have not been able to regain their former state since joining, although they have contributed to their respective positions, but they are really far from expectations.
Werner's performance was dismal
Against Manchester City, Lukaku's 20-foot pass and scattered running chart
Several major attackers can not play the price, the overall offensive efficiency of the Blues will naturally not be too high, most of Tuchel's many experiments have failed, it looks gorgeous and practical use but the effect is not good, this is the Blues' incomparable real status quo. VS Manchester City and Brighton match. Even more deadly is Lukaku, who bought at a high price and did not match the team's tactics, anxious to get the ball and wait for opportunities in each round of the game, slowly wearing down each other's patience. This gamble is currently most likely to end in failure, and they need to find a way as soon as possible on the offensive end.
Professional media posted questions
Question 2: The lack of people on the flanks kills the three defenders of the schema
At the beginning of the season, Chilwell and Rees-James flew together, Lukaku and his teammates in the front court received a lot of support, which is also the new system and tactic that Tuchel bought the Belgian to build. Unfortunately, with the continuous injury and shortage of wing personnel, the Blues have "made a hard move" in the lineup, which greatly restricts the pace of progress. This is also a problem that cannot be ignored. When Chilwell and Mount went alongside, the Blues made a very efficient switch, and the firing line came to a standstill after his injury.
Lukaku received little support, with Alonso and the backfield passing frequency high
Marcos Alonso and Azpilicueta are definitely star players in world football and have played highlights in their careers. But after all, the years are not spared, and in the twilight years, they cannot be "rampage" like Ben and Li, and it is naturally difficult to match the young players in the team when they enter the substitution, playing a high-speed operation and a very fast offensive and defensive conversion. Especially in terms of overall penetration, it is indeed a lot worse. This makes the team's athletic ability discounted, "can't go up, can't come down", very embarrassing.
Faced with a lack of personnel, Tuchel even began to consider changing the 4-back to offset the shortcomings of Alonso and Azpilicueta. For example, 4-2-2-2 against Brighton, 4-4-1-1 against Manchester City (most of the time). This is a helpless move, given the instability of Chaloba and Christensen, it is really difficult for him to consider the choice of center-back at any time.
VS Manchester City's change of team
In the days when both sides can "fly together", Tuchel does not have to think too much about the midfield organization, it is difficult to have Kante on the other side, he can also use his good ability to carry the ball forward, cameo the role of organizer, the team operation is not a big problem. But on the days when the wing can't get up, the lack of creativity in the middle of the team is very obvious. VS Manchester City such a strong dialogue exposed directly, Kovacic and Kante are indeed very hard, but also play well to complete their own tasks, but it is really difficult to give forward. Lukaku was helpless and the team was cut off.
Chilwell assisted Rudiger
At present, the problem of lack of personnel may continue, and the situation of stopping and stopping still exists, which is a problem that Tuchel is very worried about. In the last three games, the team has only scored 2 goals in total, and the left and right roads are also average, and how to solve the test tests the wisdom of the entire coaching team.
Question 3: The battle of being thoroughly understood and counter-clamped
Tuchel's winning the Champions League trophy is a big event for the club and a great honour for the entire Premier League event. However, behind the congratulations, there are not a few people who study his tactics, after all, the role model is also a "goal", and everyone has the desire to challenge. After gradually being "understood" tactics, the pattern 3-4-3 style seems to be no longer so much the same. This is also an important factor in the difficulty of ensuring the stability of the team.
Why rely on Rudiger to launch an offensive? In recent rounds, German centre-backs have become an important attacking point for the Blues. Although he has good passing ability, too many center-backs looking for a striker is not a good idea, and it will also make the already very fragmented lineup more fragmented. There is nothing wrong with the slowness of the full-backs, but it should not be done in this way.
Why is the substitution not decisive? Under the premise of a large number of injuries and injuries in the starting lineup, Tuchel's substitution has been controversial, especially at key moments, and the selection of his faction and people's expectations always seem to have a big difference. For example, the operation of taking Werner in the VS Manchester City match was very surprising, and the commentator also mentioned this problem many times.
Why not set up an organizational point? Ziyeh's recent start, which can be seen as Tuchel's design. However, it seems that it is not bold enough in terms of tactical tilt, the players themselves have not been able to get too much eye-catching data, and the stealth in many moments is also very confusing to the frontcourt teammates. Since Hazard, the Blues have been looking for new organizational strengths, and now it seems that Tuchel has not been able to complete. This also led to the team being pinned down by the opponent.
Confidence and Challenge: Time should be given to Tuchel, but the schedule is not waiting for anyone
Tuchel has worked with Many giants such as Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and so on since his debut, and it can be said that he is very experienced, and the rhythm control of the five major leagues is also very accurate. Although the team has indeed had a lot of problems recently, with loopholes at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, he still has patience and believes that he can give the right adjustments. At this time, it is indeed too early to talk about changing the coach, and the boss of Abu should not be too anxious.
But for the team, the schedule is not waiting for anyone. After playing against Tottenham Hotspur in a few days, they will experience a break from the national team's matchday, followed by a difficult February schedule. In February, the Blues have a confrontation with Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Leicester (which will be postponed), but also play the Club World Cup, the FA Cup, and the Champions League knockout match with Lille will also start at the same time, the schedule is extremely tight, and the requirements for personnel are also extremely high. Judging by the current lineup, it is indeed difficult to deal with.
In addition, the renewal problem in the team is also very troublesome. Thiago Silva (continued), Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger and other defenders have entered the contract year, and how to choose test the team's top management. Judging from the previous rumors from Rudiger and other clubs, the Blues top brass seems to be thinking about it and is not too sure. This layer of challenges also needs to be handled as soon as possible, so it is not worth it to rise to the team contradiction.
epilogue
Overall, Tuchel has not been easy after winning the trophy, and his situation is even more difficult to deal with now than when he first arrived. The lack of tactical system due to the lack of team personnel, the lack of offensive firepower also highlights the lack of creativity in the midfield, and the close-knit negotiation of the schedule is accompanied by the negotiation of personnel contract extensions, which are urgent problems to be solved. Although Abu is still very supportive of him, if the several hard battles in February do not change, it is estimated that the drama of the blue bridge changing hands will be staged again.
(Li Qian)