What Tuchel Must Do Quickly To Secure Premier League Top Four

Everybody seemed to be a little sceptical when Chelsea replaced Frank Lampard at the helm with Thomas Tuchel back in December.

There were question marks surrounding the German’s pedigree after he failed to win the Champions League with massive financial backing at Paris Saint-Germain.

However, thus far in his time at Stamford Bridge, he has proved the doubters wrong.

The 0-0 draw with Leeds United at Elland Road last Saturday afternoon marked Tuchel’s 12th game in charge of the Blues in all competitions and the goalless draw was enough to ensure that his Chelsea side remained unbeaten during his tenure.

It’s been a great start to life in west London for Tuchel. But it’s fair to say that Chelsea haven’t come away from all 12 of those games smelling like roses.

There have been some fantastic results, like the 1-0 away wins over Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Atlético Madrid, that’s for sure.

However, there are some games that the Blues will look back on and wonder how they didn’t win, Saturday’s draw with Leeds being one of them alongside the 1-1 draw with out-of-form Southampton.

In many respects, the appointment of Tuchel has been a quick fix for Chelsea.

Under the guidance of Lampard, the Blues were quickly spiralling out of control.

But the tides turned almost immediately under the strict regime of the German and Chelsea became all the more favourable in the online betting on Betfair sports as a result.

A top-four finish is back on the cards for Chelsea, and whilst that’s arguably got to be Tuchel’s priority for the remainder of this season, the German will undoubtedly still have one eye on the FA Cup and the Champions League.

Chelsea look all the better since Tuchel’s appointment. His change to the formation, introducing a back three with wing-backs, has worked wonders with only Southampton’s Takumi Minamino scoring from open play against the Blues.

But there is still a lot of work that needs to be done if Chelsea want to push further up the table in seasons to come.

At times, the cracks that resulted in Lampard being sacked reappear,the main factor being Chelsea’s lack of goalscoring threat.

The Blues are yet to score more than twice in a game under Tuchel, and the 0-0 draw was the third time he was involved in a goalless draw since he was sworn in on short notice at the beginning of the year.

Summer signings Timo Werner and Kai Havertz have had their struggles since moving to London from the German Bundesliga, and whilst they have both improved under their compatriot Tuchel, the goals are yet to come from either on a regular basis.

Havertz has gained praise recently for his performances in a shadow striker role, but he knows he must improve more, whilst Tuchel has also claimed that it is his job to ensure that Chelsea start firing in the goals.

“We have to admit we put a lot of focus on putting on pressure high up the pitch,” the Chelsea boss said after the Leeds games.

“Our strikers never stop working on counter-pressing. Do they always arrive at the freshest moment? No, they don’t, of course not against an opponent like Leeds.

“Still, I believe we have enough quality to use the chances and counter-attacks better to create more and be more clinical. This is my responsibility, but we could have won this game by one or two goals and we would talk totally different about it.”

There’s no doubt that Chelsea need to turn the raft of chances they create in games into goals and they need to do it fast if they want to reaffirm their place in the top four.

If they don’t, they will be looking over their shoulders until the final day of the season.