The podium in sight!
This Sunday (5.30 p.m.), in the shock of the 26th day of the Premier League which opposes it to Manchester United (2nd) - one of its direct competitors - Chelsea (5th) has the opportunity to continue its good recovery started since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel and thus get closer to the podium.
Chelsea training before facing Atlético Madrid (0-1)
A beautiful dynamic
On January 26, the German technician, freshly dismissed from Paris Saint-Germain, landed in west London to take over a struggling club in the league.
Frank Lampard, sacked, had indeed left Chelsea in 10th place in the Premier League, 9 points off the podium despite colossal investments made during the summer transfer market.
Now Londoners are doing better.
The former coach of Mainz and Borussia Dortmund, dubbed by Pep Guardiola on his arrival, gave color to the Blues.
6 wins, 2 draws, no defeat in all competitions: his record since taking office is excellent.
In the league, Olivier Giroud's teammates have even chained 4 victories in a row, including a great success on the pitch at Tottenham (0-1) before having to share the points against Southampton (1-1).
Results which allowed them to achieve a nice rise in the standings and to be back in the race for places in the Champions League.
They are currently in 5th place, but only two points behind 4th place - synonymous with qualification in C1 - held by West Ham and six points from the second step of the podium.
But it's not just in the Premier League that the Blues shine.
In C1, they won away from the formidable team of Atlético Madrid thanks to a jewel from their French striker, thus taking an interesting advantage in view of the qualification for the quarter-finals.
This beautiful dynamic augurs an interesting end to the season for the London club.
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Strong choices
If Thomas Tuchel has managed to straighten Chelsea, it is because he made profound changes.
The German coach first introduced a new system.
No more 4-3-3, place for flexible 3-4-3, capable of transforming into 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2.
To animate it, the finalist of the last Champions League has decided to relaunch some players.
Antonio Rüdiger has regained a place in central defense to the detriment of Kurt Zouma (before the injury of Thiago Silva);
on the left, Marcos Alonso is often preferred to Ben Chilwell.
Among the offensive players, Hakim Ziyech, who has chained several injuries in recent months, passes after several of his partners.
The Moroccan eventually pays for the change of system.
Even N'Golo Kanté, yet considered to be indestructible in recent seasons, is no longer the holder.
This does not prevent Thomas Tuchel from declaring his love for him: "See the guy live, see how he works, how humble he is, the quality he gives to the team ... I am so honored. to be his trainer, ”he declared at the beginning of February.
However, since his arrival, the 2018 World champion has only started two matches, including one in the FA Cup.
But the Frenchman may be preserved after his injury in January.
These strong choices are in any case bearing fruit.
Beyond the results, this positive transformation is perceptible through certain figures.
While struggling when she did not have the ball with Frank Lampard, Chelsea regained a defensive footing.
Under his orders, the Blues have conceded only two goals.
To hope to finish on the podium, they will have to continue to be as strong defensively.
Can they?
Answer already this Sunday, facing the offensive armada of Manchester United!
1.7 - Since Thomas Tuchel's first game in charge of Chelsea on January 27th, they have allowed their opponents just 1.7 shots on target per Premier League game on average (10 faced in 6 matches) - the lowest ratio of any side in the competition in this time.
Control.
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- OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 20, 2021
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