Thanks all for your company and comments – ta-ra.
Tuchel says his team lacked precision with their final ball and finishing, “but in the end I could not care less.” He agrees that Werner is lacking confidence, but is “not the only striker in the word who is very sensitive that he does not score, noting that “no hugs, no warm words can make up” for the feeling of not scoring. But he’s happy as long as Werner is working hard.
On Hudson-Odoi, he says that wing-back suits him because he can play from the line and use his speed, but they need to work on his timing.
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And here’s Jacob Steinberg’s match report.
Depressingly, we’re still talking about this.
Cesar Azpilicueta says they were struggling to score as they did against Wolves but they played well, moving the ball, creating chances and no allowing a shot on their own goal. He’s pleased with his first goal in over a year, and is also pleased for Marcos Alonso, who’s not played much this season. He thinks there’s good competition for places, which is healthy, and says that Chelsea should always be in the mix for trophies.
Want a break from unstoppable football? Hard lines, because Leicester-Leeds is about to kick-off.
Elsewhere, Chelsea’s women team are also having a good day, leading Spurs 3-0. Rob Smyth has the latest on that one.
Chelsea played pretty well there, though Burnley offered them little. In particular, Mason Mount made his case for inclusion, while Marcos Alonso did himself no harm either. With Spurs coming next in a game that’s crucial –at all times, but particular so given the top-four situation – we’ll get a decent idea of what Tuchel thinks on Thursday.
Full-time: Chelsea 2-0 Burnley
Chelsea have their first win under Thomas Tuchel which takes them from 11th to seventh; that’s their first home win in three. Burnley stay 16th.
90+4 min The corner is a goodun, picking out Tarkowski at the far post ... but he heads over. That was a great chance, and the only one Burnley have created today.
90+3 min Burnley win a free-kick down the right and the centre-backs trot forward, but Thiago Silva gets a head on McNeill’s cross and the ball flies behind.
90+1 min Havertz sends Pulisic away down the left and streaks forward while pointing where he wants the return. But Pulisic aims for Werner one over, trying an outside-of-the-boot square ball, which has too much on it.
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90 min There’ll be four additional minutes.
90 min I’m not sure Burnley have had a shot on target.
88 min “Re Giancarlo Sandoval’s 50th minute comment about how Tuchel changes squad to adapt to the opponent,” says Mike MacKenzie, “I’m reminded of something a certain L. Messi said when Barca were in their heyday. When asked about how they prepare for the opposition he said that Barca doesn’t spend much time analysing the other team but instead focuses on what they want to do. Of course, when you know you’ll have the ball most of the time, that is an easier approach to adopt.”
Yes, exactly that. Good teams can do what they do, less good teams need to adapt. Tuchel is a rarity in that aspect.
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87 min Mumbongo breaks clear and, coming in from the right, he’s on-on-one with Mendy! But his low shot clips the near post on its way wide, after which the flag goes up.
86 min Chelsea travel to Spurs on Thursday, which should be an interesting little encounter. I’m not sure their defence is equipped to handle Son and Ndombele if they play well, but on other hand, Spurs’ defence will struggle with Mount and Hudson-Odoi.
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GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Burnley (Alonso 84)
Another brilliant full-back finish! This time, Alonso slides Pulisic outside him, mooches into the box, and when the cross arrives to him at the near post, he leaps to chest, chucks in a knee to set, and then absolutely dematerialises a shot into the roof. Game over.
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83 min Nice from Chelsea, Werner sliding Havertz down the line, and his low cross finds Pulisic but offering him a very tight angle from which to run the ball across his foot, and Pope saves easily enough.
82 min That said, they’ve got a small squad and it’d be no surprise if their players were knackered following two monumental efforts against Liverpool and Villa. I’ve no a clue what the games are going to look like in March and April, but it feels like quality is dropping already.
81 min Burnley have been really disappointing today, offering very little
80 min Final change for Chelsea, Havertz on for Mount, who’s been good.
79 min Chelsea are still seeking a clincher, which makes sense. Burnley don’t have the speed or quality to make a counter-attack equaliser likely, and they can’t score from a corner if they’re pinned back inside their own box.
76 min Burnley send on Mumbongo for Brady.
76 min Kovacic, who we’ve barely seen this half, larrups a dreadful shot in the direction of Selhurst Park.
75 min And here he is now, controlling a decent crossfield ball from Jorginho before driving a low shot that Pope just about saves with his legs.
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74 min I really like James, who has a lot of attributes. He needs to work on his defending – what 21-year-old doesn’t – so this formation should suit him.
73 min Change for Chelsea, Reece James replacing Hudson-Odoi. I’m a little surprised at that, as he looked likely to create a clincher, but there’s another round of midweek fixtures coming, for which he’ll be needed.
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71 min Mount and Hudson-Odoi are ganging up on poor old Pieters and here they come again, Pulisic using the pace of the latter’s cross to sweep with the line of the ball, the finish going just wide. Hudson-Odoi, scorer of two Premier League goals, is not at all impressed.
70 min Mount, who’s been excellent – I’m not sure he’ll be sub again anytime soon – rushes forward and punches a low pass that Pulisic can’t quite control.
69 min Mount slides a gentle ball inside Brady, who isn’t paying any kind of attention, and Hudson-Odoi passes a low cross into the middle at which Mee desperately slides, sending it just past the post. For a split-second, that looked like an own goal.
68 min Something from Burnley, for the first time this half and maybe even for the first time this match, McNeill drilling a low cross that Azpilicueta blocks, just about.
66 min “I am an Everton fan, sigh,” says Mary Waltz, “and normally I would not say this about any Chelsea player but I am actually starting to feel pity for Werner. He has the look of Job stuck in the pit of misery.”
He doesn’t look so bad in general play, but you get that awful feeling he doesn’t want chances to fall to him at the moment. I should add that on one quiet Europa Thursday night, Mary recommended Robert A. Caro’s book the Power Broker to me, which I now recommend to any off youse interested in the twin arms of power and prose.
65 min Burnley are struggling for ideas.
63 min Chelsea have done a really good job of shutting Burnley down, which I guess reflects a downside of their style. When you sit deep and look to go forward with long balls, it’s much easier for opponents to sustain their attacks and build tempo.
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60 min Oh dear. Chris Wood is down with some kind of leg behaviour, possibly a hamstring; that’ll be his afternoon done, and Gudmundsson replaces him.
59 min Westwood is booked for tripping Jorginho.
59 min It’s just occurred to me who Pieters’ wife is.
58 min Mount spreads to Hudson-Odoi, who isolates Pieters, shifts onto his right foot, and clatters a shot which again Pieters deflects ... this time onto the post. On which point, I should note that at half-time we learnt that Azpilicueta sprinted 76 yards to get outside his winger to score.
56 min “It’s all about percentages at times,” Steve McManaman says of Burnley – work that one out. Anyway, they win a corner and before it’s taken replace Vydra with the aforementioned Rodriguez. But McNeill’s delivery is poor and the ball goes behind off Brady.
56 min Jay Rodriguez was warming up a couple of minutes ago, which makes sense – if Dyche leaves this much longer, his team could be two goals down.
54 min Rudiger finds himself on the ball, 25 yards out; “Go on son, have a dig,” they say to him (were Andy Gray commentating). “Alright lads, I will, and I’ll show you exactly why I’m, a centre-back,” he responds.
53 min “All strikers are bound to fail at Chelsea, because the team doesn’t play to the strength of their strikers,” reckons Ellie Motsipa. “They only did with Drogba and Costa, maybe because they were very demanding and vocal. All coaches have missed this key factor at Chelsea.”
I’m not sue – it’s hard to say from the outside – but the main thing is that Drogba and Costa were very good players.
52 min This is the best I’ve seen Hudson-Odoi play for Chelsea, and fed in by Azpilicueta, he injects some pace then whips over a cross that Werner heads hard ... but too close to Pope.
50 min “Re: ‘However, the majority of successful teams play the same way in pretty much every game and this squad needs a lot of work to get serious,” returns Giancarlo Sandoval.
“Interesting, only Tuchel does not think this at all. His teams change and adapt to the team they are playing and adaptability is valued over fixed formations. I am taking this from his Rulebreaker talk, where he says he is always surprised that in interviews before the game he is asked about his six changes every game and he doesn’t really mind. (Also shout-out to all the pieces about his tactics this week).”
I agree, but it’s unusual. Klopp almost always plays 4-3-3, likewise Guardiola, Fergie and Wenger were 4-4-2 then 4-3-3 and so on. When you have a way of playing, it’s much easier to swap players in and out – but even then, you don’t get the same cohesion.
49 min Again, the corner is cleared as far as Jorginho, and this time he keeps the attack going, Azpilicueta’s cross hitting Mee’s arm and flying behind. There’s a quiet penalty shout, but nothing doing and rightlo so. Burnley are struggling to get out here.
49 min Werner looks to go outside Mee, who blocks his low cross behind.
48 min The corner is cleared as far as Jorginho, but Burnley force him back.
47 min Lovely turn from Mount, who takes a short pass and spins, playing Alonso in, whose cross is blocked behind.
46 min Pulisic starts well, screeching down the right, but Werner can’t deal with his low cross.
46 min We go again.
Half-time change: Abraham does indeed go off, but it’s Pulisic coming on. We don’t know if that’s tactical or because of injury.
Elsewhere, there’s a WSL London derby into which one should dig.
Half-time: Chelsea 1-0 Burnley
Chelsea have earned that, creating various presentable chances and generally dominating.
45+1 min “Burnley and West Brom seem to have a special approach based on hustling when it comes to the expensive teams,” says Ian Copestake. “They get through as much of the first half as possible not attacking as if to lull the opposition into thinking they are right-handed before coming out all left-handed in the second half to Ted Lasso it into the bulls-eye.”
They’re struggling to get enough of the ball currently; perhaps they might play a little narrower in midfield and rely on the full-backs for width.
45 min There’ll be one added minute.
45 min Burnley have been disappointing this half, but if they can keep it to 1-0 will fancy themselves to cause problems after the break.
44 min Mount’s been decent this half and he snaps a ball into Werner who tries to play him back in but gets too much on it.
42 min McNeill wins a challenge with Alonso and the ref blows for a free-kick, which pleases Sean Dyche just as much as you’d think. Various Anglo-Saxon terms are uttered.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Burnley (Azpilicueta 41)
Cesar Azpilicueta scores the first goal of the Tuchel era, and with an excellent finish too. Jorginho opens up the pitch with a ball from the left into the middle for Mount, in space and central. He sticks in Hudson-Odoi and it looks like a good shooting opportunity, but instead he sways inside then chops outside for Azpilicueta, storming forward to curl an outswinger high into the net, with the help of a slight deflection off Pieters.
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39 min After a few decent minutes for Chelsea, it’s gone tepid.
37 min I wonder if Chelsea might do well to replace Abraham with Havertz at some point. I guess Abraham is important for defending set-pieces, but another creator in the middle would be helpful. Meantime, Werner cuts onto his right foot to drive another low shot straight at Pope.
35 min “Is it just me or is the fake crowd particularly tetchy today?” wonders Adam Kline Schoder. “Seem awfully restless, and getting far too over excited by a Burnley counterattack and cheering the beginning of a possible Chelsea move with the sort of exuberance normally reserved for winning the World Cup. How the standards have dropped at Stamford Bridge...”
Agreed, whoever’s on the buttons has had a trough of Sunny D for breakfast.
33 min “ Geil’ in German is something that the kids are saying nowadays as a synonym for ‘cool’, says Giancarlo Sandoval, “so perhaps the German Football Manager contingent would find it not so problematic.”
And rightly so. Love a bit of Gail.
32 min Chelsea have created more in half an hour than in 90 minutes in midweek.
30 min Werner looks bereft of confidence in front of goal but his general play isn’t bad, and he shifts feet quickly to nash around the outside, cutting back for Mount! But he leans back while slipping, sending the ball high and wide.
29 min Rudiger finds Hudson-Odoi, who crosses low for Werner, alone and palely loitering ... but with the ball skipping off the turf a little, he hits the ball into his standing foot. No birds sing.
28 min “Regarding the earlier conversation with Lee, you could consider the squad a mess, or you could consider it as leaving the manager with options,” reckons Benjamin Park. “Tuchel is known to change formations regularly and this abundance of differently talented players might suit him. Of course, we’re not going to see the results immediately, he’s tactically very detail-oriented which takes time to implement, but I imagine he rather likes this squad.”
It has some good attackers, for sure, and I agree that options are helpful. However, the majority of successful teams play the same way in pretty much every game and this squad needs a lot of work to get serious.
26 min Chance for Chelsea! Jorginho swings a fine ball over to Alonso at the back post, and he should go for goal ... maybe he does go for goal ... but it doesn’t work out, sending it back across, where Abraham and Mount clatter each other.
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24 min “Guile has been mentioned as a required and valued attribute,” says Ian Copestake, “though not one I remember listed on Football Manager. Perhaps that was to spare the blushes of Germans who would read it as a homophone for ‘geil’ and wonder whether it was worth shelling out money for a player who is horny.”
This is totally lost on me, but l’état ne c’est moi pas, or something.
23 min Burnley are starting to assert themselves, and McNeill drives a low cross that Silva collects then clears.
22 min Lowton swings a decentish ball in for Vydra, but Thiago Silva is there to head away.
20 min “I am looking forward to RLC returning,” says Kim Crawley. “He looked good yesterday. I think he would do well combining with Werner and make a better job of it than Abraham who struggles to make any impact at times. RLC looks a lot stronger than Abraham.”
I think Chelsea were surprised by how many goals Abraham scored last season – for the level they’d like to reach, he’s a squad player not a starter, I think. I’m not sure Loftus-Cheek would work as a striker, but he could offer something as an attacking midfielder and looks to have run into his best form in recent weeks.
19 min Everything that no one wants to see, Abraham and Tarkowski exchanging sentiments. The former went in the back of the latter, gently and without malice, but that was all. Still, one on which to keep an eye.
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18 min We’ve not seen much from Burnlry going forward, but here’s Lowton, trying to play a ball in behind for Vydra ... which has too much on it.
17 min Werner attacks Lowton on the outside, digging out a cross from the by-line that finds its way behind.
17 min Chelsea are playing much more quickly than in midweek and looking much more threatening as a consequence.
16 min A flick from Kovacic sets Chelsea away again, and when Mount lays back to the edge of the box, it’s Kovacic stepping into a low shot ... which is straight at Pope.
15 min Werner fiddles space for a low shot from outside the box, which Pope saves easily enough, then someone hits the wrong crowd noise button as Burnley seek to counter, the home crowd making row for a second before the mistake is realised.
14 min Chelsea win a free-kick down the right and the centre-backs come forward, and when ball isn’t cleared properly, they stay up, Thiago Silva heading Azpilicueta’s cross over the top.
12 min Nice from Chelsea, Kovacic playing a one-two off Jorginho and advancing at shooting lanes open. But a slightly heavy touch persuades him to feed Hudson-Odoi in and a slightly underhit pass persuades his man to come back inside, his shot blocked behind for a corner – which comes to nowt.
11 min Westwood drills a nice ball over to Cork on the far side of the box. It’s hard to read the flight of it through a screen – it looks like Cork could take it down – but he tries to head back across which suggests to the contrary and Chelsea clear.
10 min Brady megs Alonso and spreads to Lowton. He’s got three men in the box but opts not to cross, and the attack breaks down.
9 min Werner is cutting about with decent intention and he takes a ball from Alonso but turns into trouble.
8 min But this is nice, Werner pulling left and darting pass into Mount, who takes two lovely and dextrous touches on the half-turn, beating his man and opening the space for a curler, which he deposits high and wide.
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6 min “Think this will be a difficult afternoon for Chelsea and a particularly awkward and excruciating one for Tuchel,” says Nigel Matthews, “particularly if he hasn’t done his homework properly on Burnley. I imagine Sean Dyche will be licking his lips at the thought of Chelsea’s flimsy midfield and makeshift wing-backs – he’ll might never get a better opportunity to improve his sparse record at Stamford Bridge and register a rare (first?) league win there.”
I think so too. I’m sure Tuchel knows much more about football than I do, and could well have the ability to coach his players to play this formation well. But to my uneducated eye, it doesn’t look like the best use of the materials available to him.
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5 min Kovacic launches a ball over the top, seeking Mount in behind, but Pope comes to collect.
4 min Wood takes possession in a decent position between the lines, but his ball to Vydra is far too soft and Chelsea bring it away.
3 min McNeill looks to come down the left, playing off Wood, but Chelsea force them back downfield and Mount runs hand through thatch, swept into some kind of fringe.
2 min No they’re not! They’re now settled with three at the back.
1 min Aha! Chelsea are playing a back four, with Alonso at left-back. A 4-4-2 makes more sense than the 3-5-2 I thought they were at; Mount is on the left with Hudson-Odoi on the right.
1 min Away we go!
The players take a knee. All black lives matter.
Tuchel is wearing puffa, beanie and snood, like he’s in the Arctic. Imagine the dressing-room disrespect if he was managing Kieran Tierney.
Here come the teams....
“As a Chelsea fan,” admits Lee Madden, “my guess is that this line up be a 3-4-1-2 system, with Marcos Alonso and Hudson Odoi providing width and Mount just behind Abraham and Werner. Mount has been excellent this season and fully deserves his place in the team, but we’re still not really sure on the best midfield combination is or if Mount can cut it as a top level ‘between the lines’ player. Our squad really is a bit of a mish-mash (unsurprisingly) with some quality players, but no clarity of overarching approach, which I think has led to so many players being out of form.”
Yes, I agree with pretty much all of that. I’ve not seen as much of Chelsea as those who watch them every week, but I’ve seen a bit and more impressed by Mount that any of the others. I’m not sure he’ll be an elite number 10, but I think he could be a really good number 8. I’d play him there with Ziyech and Hudson-Odoi on the flanks, but then you’ve got to find a way of getting Havertz in too. As you say, it’s a bit of a mess.
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“Surely if we’re talking Yiddish,” emails Jonathan Ginzburg, “then the quickest association is תומאס טאָכעס – Thomas Tuchas – and variations thereon.”
BT show us tape of Nick Pope, who I’m absolutely certain is superior to Jordan Pickford. Tangentially, it’s a funny situation for Gareth Southgate, who has so many options; he probably has to settle on some, even if that necessarily excludes others for no good reason.
Sean Dyche, whose sideboards seems to left thicker than his number one all over, says he’s been building back to a fully-fit squad. He doesn’t know what Chelsea will do, but it’s up to his team to respond. His confirms that Brownhill is injured and Rodriguez is rested, but also notes that Vydra has been looking sharp.
Burnley, meanwhile, lack a bit of pace in attack, but I’m sure they’ll be targeting Chelsea’s right side, where Azpilicueta is slowing and Hudson-Odoi is unused to defending. As it goes, the latter’s average position against Wolves was further forward than Giroud, which will be a factor of how the match went, but also of his instruction and inclination. I’d expect a lot of crosses to the front post.
With Werner and Abraham in the side, Chelsea will at least have a threat in behind, which wasn’t the case against Wolves. Against Burnley, though, there probably won’t be much space to attack, and guile might be more helpful than pace.
I guess the problem for Chelsea is that N’golo Kanté can no longer be relied upon to chase about like two men. That’s how Pep Guardiola balanced playing De Bruyne and Silva – two eights – with Fernandinho, and one of the reasons you see Manchester United struggling to balance creation with security.
Easier said than done, I daresay.
When I look at the Chelsea team, I can’t help but feel it’s missing at least one attacker. Their best football this season probably came playing 4-3-3 with two forward-thinking midfielders, but set up like this, there’s a lot of creative onus on Mount, while Hudson-Odoi will have defending to do – especially up against Dwight McNeill. On the other hand, playing in a two might welease Werner to do what he did for Leipzig – I’m just not sure there’s enough creative gumption to give him the opportunities he needs.
There are worse ways to combat 3-5-2 than 4-4-2. Though you’d expect Chelsea to dominate in midfield, two strikers on three centre-backs allows Burnley to look attack the spaces between them and the wing-backs, and full-backs behind wingers means they can target the spaces in the corners that 3-5-2 necessarily allows. I think Chelsea are in for a tough afternoon.
As for Burnley, Sean Dyche makes two changes from Wednesday’s brilliant come-from-behind win against Villa. In midfield, Jack Cork replaces Josh Brownhill, who’s injured, and in attack, Matej Vydra is in for Jay Rodriguez.
By the looks of things, Chelsea are sticking with their three at the back system which, along with Tuchel’s arrival, is good news for Antonio Rudiger, who retains his starting spot. Ben Chilwell, though, does not. He looked surprised to be subbed in midweek, and now he’s sitting at the side from the start, with Marcos Alonso given a go at left wing-back; Callum Hudson-Doi remains on the right.
In midfield, we can also see what looks like a preference, Jorginho and Kovacic keeping their places to do whatever it is they do, with Mason Mount asked to supply the thrust that was missing against Wolves. Whether this is a policy decision, though, is unclear, as Hakim Ziyech is missing from the squad altogether, presumably injured, while up front Timo Werner and Tammy Abraham replace Kai Havertz and Olivier Giroud.
Teams!
Chelsea (your-guess-is-as-good-as-mine): Mendy; Rudiger, Silva, Azpilicueta; Hudson-Odoi, Jorginho, Kovacic, Mount, Alonso; Abraham, Werner. Subs: Arrizabalaga, Christensen, Kante, Pulisic, Zouma, Giroud, Chilwell, James, Havertz.
Burnley (as-if-you-can’t-guess): Pope; Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters; Brady, Westwood, Cork, McNeil; Vydra, Wood. Subs: Peacock-Farrell, Gudmundsson, Stephens, Rodriguez, Bardsley, Long, Dunne, Benson, Mumbongo.
Your friend and mine: Graham Scott (Oxfordshire)
Preamble
The pro forma for what to do in the first instance after taking a mid-season managerial job is simple and short: not much. Well, no one told Thomas Tuchel.
His name sounds like it’s part of an old Yiddish epigram – “Oy a broch, look at him, swanning about like he’s some kind of fancy Thomas Tuchel” – and it wouldn’t be far off the mark. The team he picked to play against Wolves in midweek wasn’t the team of a manager giving his new squad a chance, but the team of a manager who’s been watching his players closely, forming definite ideas about what it should be and how it should do. Not since Terry Venables arrived at Leeds in 2002, to immediately replace Nigel Martyn with Paul Robinson while sending Harry Kewell up front, has a new arrival seemed to have planned from afar – and that was a close-season appointment.
Maybe Tuchel simply picked an XI he thought would beat Wolves, who play a very particular and very slow three at the back, but that doesn’t seem likely or in character. The side he sends out today will tell us a lot about his plans for the immediate future.
And in Burnley he’ll find a side in decent form, who’ve beaten Liverpool and Villa in their last two league games. But more than that, they’re a side who know exactly what they’re doing and why they’re doing it; whether Tuchel can impose similar on his will go a long way to deciding how this afternoon goes.
Kick-off: 12pm GMT
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