The arrival of Thomas Tuchel to Chelsea did not necessarily bring a positive atmosphere for all residents of the Blues squad. Some players began to lose positions in the main place, including stars who were recruited at fantastic prices.
Thomas Tuchel was inaugurated as Chelsea’s new coach since January 26 to replace Frank Lampard. After undergoing a difficult match in his debut match against Wolverhampton Wanderers which ended in a 0-0 draw, Tuchel immediately pressed on in the following four matches.
Four consecutive wins were achieved, including over Burnley (2-0), Tottenham Hotspur (1-0), and Sheffield United (2-1). Most recently, the Blues managed to bring Tuchel to a 2-0 win over Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge Stadium in Week 24 of the Premier League on 16/2/2021. Thanks to the positive trend that Chelsea have had in the Tuchel era so far, the team from West London has been taking off very rapidly.
The Blues, who were scattered in 10th position, have now made it into the top four. Changes in strategy to formulation of players are factors that make Chelsea climbs. However, there is an irony behind the beautiful story of Chelsea today.
There are a number of pillars that are now starting to be forgotten because Thomas Tuchel is rarely played them. So, who are these players? Here’s the list:
1. Hakim Ziyech
Ziyech played very little playing time under Tuchel. Noted, the 27-year-old player only appeared for 82 minutes during Tuchel’s lead. That match was the last time Ziyech appeared with the Blues. After that, he was not brought in by Tuchel in the last three matches in the Premier League and was not even included on the bench.
According to the Corriere dello Sport report, the player who was recruited from Ajax Amsterdam for 40 million euros was reportedly not included in Tuchel’s plan. The same source also said Ziyech wanted to meet Chelsea’s Sports Director, Marina Granovskaia, to discuss his future.
2. Christian Pulisic
Another name is a star from the United States, Christian Pulisic. Similar to Ziyech, Pulisic also had minimal minutes to play under Tuchel. The attacking midfielder has only appeared three times in the Premier League with Tuchel so far. In more detail, he only recorded 84 minutes in the Tuchel era.
While the team was still coached by Frank Lampard, Pulisic was often given the opportunity to play both as a starter and as a substitute. However, Pulisic did not play again in Chelsea’s win over Newcastle. He only filled the bench.
Tuchel argued that Pulisic was not played because the player from the United States played a long time (80 minutes) when Chelsea played Barnsley in the FA Cup on Friday (12/2/2021).
3. Ben Chilwell
Since managing Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel likes to use a three-man defender. Therefore, he prefers to play Marcos Alonso because the player has a lot of experience with this formation. Alonso’s experience emerged when working together for two seasons (2016-2017 and 2017-2018) with Antonio Conte. As a result, Chiwell has only played 138 minutes from five matches in the Premier League with Tuchel.
However, the new Blues coach indicated that Chilwell was included in his project at Stamford Bridge. “Marcos is currently the one who takes advantage of this situation. However, this is not the end of the development of Chilly,” said Tuchel emphasized.
4. Kurt Zouma
The French defender has the worst luck than any other player. The reason is, he has not played by Tuchel at all in the Premier League for five matches in a row when the official coach directed Chelsea. He only played in the FA Cup when Chelsea against Barnsley.
This is an irony in itself for him. Because before the Tuchel era, he was the main pillar of Chelsea under Frank Lampard. The 26-year-old defender always appeared the full 90 minutes in 14 matches in the Premier League and only missed four times due to injury or rest.
