After just over 18 months in charge, Thomas Tuchel has been sacked as manager of Chelsea.
This morning, Chelsea released this statement, saying that the German had been relieved of his duties as manager of the team.
The statement says:
On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, the Club would like to place on record its gratitude to Thomas and his staff for all their efforts during their time with the Club. Thomas will rightly have a place in Chelsea’s history after winning the Champions League, the Super Cup and Club World Cup in his time here.
As the new ownership group reaches 100 days since taking over the Club, and as it continues its hard work to take the club forward, the new owners believe it is the right time to make this transition.
Chelsea’s coaching staff will take charge of the team for training and the preparation of our upcoming matches as the Club moves swiftly to appoint a new head coach.
There will be no further comment until a new head coach appointment is made.
Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea's poor start to the season
The club's recent run of poor results likely led to the ruthless decision from the board, with last night's Champions League opening game defeat away to Dinamo Zagreb likely being the straw the broke the camel's back.
Speaking after their 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb, Tuchel said:
It's an underperformance from us. It's the same story, like always: we have an okay start, we don't finish our half chances, we don't feel it when the game is already there to put to bed in the first 15-20 minutes.
Then we conceded one counter attack, which was far too easy, and from there we struggled, and lose the next match.There's not too much to analyse, I'm a part of it. We are clearly not there where we need to be and where we can be, so it's on me, it's on us, we need to find solutions.
At the moment everything is missing. I need to find a solution for the next match, of course.
It has been an underwhelming start to the season for the Blues, with defeats to Southampton and Leeds leaving them in sixth place in the league.
Thomas Tuchel's cause hasn't been helped with the fact that he spent over £250 million this summer, acquiring the likes of Wesley Fofana, Raheem Sterling, Marc Cucurella, Kalidou Koulibaly and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang for big fees.
In his first season in charge at the club, the 49-year-old led Chelsea to Champions League glory for just the second time in their history, beating Manchester City thanks to a Kai Havertz strike.
Tuchel then went on to win the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup last season, also securing a third place finish in the Premier League.
There was disappointment for Thomas Tuchel's side in both domestic cups, after penalty shootout defeats to Liverpool in the Carabao and FA Cup.
Reaction to Tuchel's sacking
Monday Night Football duo, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville have been quick to react and defend the German, tweeting this earlier this morning.
#Tuchel has done a great job at #Chelsea & another club will now get a top manager. Roman is still pulling the strings!! https://t.co/27rLGUBLVB
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) September 7, 2022
Todd Woodward
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) September 7, 2022
It's a pretty radical decision to see Thomas Tuchel leave after he dictated a world record £273million spend, saw Lukaku leave for a staggering loss, Gilmour left for just £7.5m and now we wait to see who picks up the pieces.
It wasn't part of the plan to remove him clearly.— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) September 7, 2022
The Athletic are reporting that it was always part of Todd Boehly's plan to sack Thomas Tuchel prior to the defeat against Zagreb last night.
A replacement hasn't been confirmed by Chelsea yet, but instant success will be needed for whoever is given the job. Despite a disappointing start to the season considering their staggering transfer activity during the summer, it must be seen as a premature decision from Todd Boehly.
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