Thomas Tuchel was fired by Chelsea on Wednesday, only one month into the season and just days after the club concluded a Europe-high spending spree of nearly $300 million in the transfer window.
The decision by Chelsea's new ownership, fronted by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly, came a day after the team surprisingly lost to Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 in its first group match of the Champions League.
Tuchel, who has been a frustrated and prickly figure after matches this season, said “everything is missing” when he summed up Chelsea's performance against Dinamo and complained that his players “lacked hunger.”
Chelsea has lost two of its first six games — to Leeds and Southampton — in an underwhelming start to the Premier League that has seen the club's new signings fail to gel.
“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," The Associated Press quoted Chelsea as saying in a statement.
Tuchel was in charge for a year and a half, winning the Champions League only six months into his tenure. Chelsea faded in the second half of last season — Tuchel's only full campaign at the helm — and was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Champions League before finishing third in the Premier League, 19 points behind champion Manchester City.
