On Tuesday, Chelsea made some huge changes that sent waves through the footballing world. The Blues opted to part ways with club icon Frank Lampard after a terrible run that saw them win just two of their eight prior Premier League games - a stark contrast to the one loss in 11 that had helped them vault themselves towards the top of the table. In his stead, ex-PSG manager Thomas Tuchel was appointed in a bid to right the wobbly ship and guide the London giants back towards a top-four berth.
For Tuchel, this certainly will be a chance at redemption following his own sacking by Les Parisiens last year. Chelsea have gone through three managers in just under five years, and so the German tactician naturally will be looking to make his mark at Stamford Bridge in order to guarantee a long stay.
As such, there is a great deal of pressure on his shoulders, and he definitely would have been feeling it as he took charge of Chelsea for their home tie against Wolves - a team who had beaten them 2-1 in the reverse fixture this season. Although the end result wasn't a win, nor were the Blues able to score, their point earned also set some new records for the club:
Chelsea racked up 433 successful passes in the first half - which is the most of any Blues team in well over a decade, and the most Tuchel has seen a team achieve since he was in charge of Borussisa Dortmund. By the time the match was over, they had successfully completed 820 passes while maintaining 78.9 per cent of possession, which has now set two Premier League records: the highest numbers for any team in their debut match under a new manager.
Not surprisingly, the former Mainz, Dortmund, and PSG manager was quite satisfied with the result:
So, now that he's gotten his feet wet, while establishing some impressive numbers for the team, all eyes will be on if he can transform this improved form into a win when Chelsea take on 15th-placed Burnley this Sunday in their second home match under his guidance.
