Chelsea's
academy graduates featured prominently throughout Frank Lampard's tenure but
the only representative in Tuchel's first line-up was Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Tammy Abraham, Reece James and, perhaps most surprisingly, Mason Mount were
all benched.
Instead, Tuchel went in the other direction. "The expectations are high, the
pressure and tension are high, so we went for a bit of experience," he
explained ahead of kick-off at Stamford Bridge.
Thiago Silva was joined at the back by Cesar Azpilicueta and Antonio
Rudiger, a defensive trio with a combined age of 94, while the 29-year-old
Jorginho partnered Mateo Kovacic at the base of midfield and Olivier Giroud,
34, led the line up front.
Hudson-Odoi, Kai Havertz and Ben Chilwell ensured there was at least some
youthful verve in the side but the other eight starters had an average age
of close to 30 as Tuchel erred on the side of caution.
He called it the "most unfair line-up" he had ever selected having only had
one training session with the players since his appointment on Tuesday but
the approach was perhaps understandable given Chelsea's poor form and his
limited preparation time.
Abraham and Mount did at least make it off the bench in the closing stages
with the latter in particular catching eye. He and the rest of Chelsea's
young academy graduates will hope for greater involvement when Tuchel's side
face Burnley on Sunday.
Tuchel changed system as well as
personnel.
Chelsea typically played in a 4-3-3 formation under Lampard but there was an
immediate overhaul from his successor, with Silva, Azpilicueta and Rudiger
deployed in a back three.
Whether it is a blueprint he will stick to or merely a temporary measure to
match Wolves' shape remains to be seen but it was only the second time this
season that Chelsea have used a back three in the Premier League following
the goalless draw with Manchester United in October.
The outcome was the same on Wednesday night as they struggled to convert
their possession into chances but Tuchel will at least be encouraged by
elements of their defensive display. Chelsea had conceded nine goals in
their last five Premier League games so the clean sheet was a welcome one.
Wolves did create openings, the best of which saw Pedro Neto send a looping
effort onto the top of the crossbar in the second half, but Chelsea
restricted their opponents to only four shots - their joint-lowest total of
the season - none of which found the target.
The question for Tuchel to ponder now is whether the extra defensive
solidity came at the cost of their attacking threat.
Possession without penetration
"I hope we will attack and play brave football," said Tuchel when asked
about the playing style he intends to bring to Chelsea ahead of kick-off on
Tuesday night. On the evidence of his first game in charge, however, it
might take some time for it to come to fruition.
Chelsea completely dominated the ball, recording a 78.9 per cent share of
possession - the highest by any Premier League team in any game this season
- and completing 887 passes - second only to Manchester City's total in
their 5-0 thrashing of West Brom on Tuesday.
But unlike City at the Hawthorns, Chelsea offered little in the way of
penetration. In fact the largely sterile performance was reminiscent of
Maurizio Sarri's time in charge at Stamford Bridge, a period few fans
remember fondly.
Chelsea's only meaningful chance of the first half came in the first few
minutes, when Giroud failed to connect with Hudson-Odoi's low ball across
the six-yard box, and there was only modest improvement after the break.
Chilwell spurned their best opportunity, blazing wildly over from a Havertz
cut-back, while Kovacic sent a long-range effort inches wide of the post and
Hudson-Odoi forced a rare save from Rui Patricio, but ultimately Chelsea
didn't do enough to win the game.
Hudson-Odoi the wing-back
Hudson-Odoi only played 414 Premier League minutes under Lampard in the
first half of the season but here he was in Tuchel's first starting line-up
- and in a new position too. The 20-year-old was deployed at right wing-back
and took to the role like a natural.
It was clear from as early as the opening few minutes, when he accelerated
away from Rayan Ait-Nouri and flashed a wicked cross into the Wolves box,
that he had been instructed to bomb forward at every opportunity and he
continued to do so throughout the game.
There were plenty of eye-catching moments from the youngster, his runs in
behind the Wolves defence making him Chelsea's most dangerous player. He was
even entrusted with taking set pieces too.
By the end of the game he had made 11 crosses and while not all of them
found their intended target, he was most commonly let down by the movement
of his team-mates, who failed to capitalise on his service, rather than his
own delivery.
Hudson-Odoi was caught out of position on a couple of occasions, a reminder
that the role will take some getting used to for a player who normally
operates as a winger, but no Chelsea player made more tackles and there was
also a vital piece of last-ditch defending to deny Leander Dendoncker in the
closing stages.
By that point, Hudson-Odoi had switched from the right flank to the left in
order to accommodate substitute Christian Pulisic and it was from there that
he tested Rui Patricio after cutting inside onto his stronger foot. The
20-year-old clearly has plenty to offer his new manager.
Havertz gets central role
While Timo Werner didn't make it off the bench - recognition from Tuchel,
perhaps, that the striker needs time out of the spotlight to recover his
confidence after a run of 11 Premier League games without a goal - his
countryman Havertz was placed in the thick of the action.
Like Werner, Havertz has endured a difficult start to life at Chelsea but
Tuchel's first game in charge suggests he intends to build his side around
him. This was the first time the 21-year-old has completed 90 minutes in the
Premier League since October.
With the width coming from the wing-backs in Tuchel's system, Havertz was
deployed as one of two roaming number 10s along with Ziyech, playing in
close support of Giroud but with licence to drift from side to side.
He had some good moments, popping up in the right and left-hand channels,
teeing up Chilwell for the best chance of the game and, at one point in the
first half, charging through the midfield with the kind of power and
directness that marked him out as such a special talent at Bayer Leverkusen.
Havertz worked tirelessly off the ball, covering more ground (11.3km) than
any other Chelsea player, and while there were reminders that he is still
adapting to English football - he didn't complete a single take-on and none
of his three shots on goal hit the target - he evidently has a big role to
play under Tuchel.
No quick fixes but Tuchel sees positives
This was not the immediate uplift Chelsea might have hoped for when they
opted to change manager but it would be unfair to judge Tuchel on this
result after only one training session with his players.
Sunday's game against Burnley will provide a clearer indication of Tuchel's
plans for the side but the former Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund
boss saw positives in Wednesday's performance at Stamford Bridge.
"I spoke in the dressing room and told everybody there was no room for
disappointment or doubts," he said in his post-match press conference. "I
was very happy with the performance energy-wise. We were structured and
didn't allow any dangerous counter-attacks against one of the most dangerous
teams.
"We were very well-organised, brave, and played with courage as a team both
offensively and defensively, with a good impact from the bench and a very
good attitude from the players who didn't come on.
"It was hard work, but we never lost intensity and for that I am happy. If
this is our starting point I'm looking forward to where we will end up.
"Not much needs to improve," he added. "I see an exciting mix between
experienced players, personalities and talented guys. I see a very demanding
league that brings everything out physically in every player.
"I found a group yesterday that was totally open to our ideas, beliefs and
tactical approach. This made me feel very good because this is what you wish
for. This is the level.
"Now we can work on the details ahead of Burnley."
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