Chelsea have announced that they have parted company with head coach Thomas Tuchel.
On Tuesday evening, the Blues suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, the latest setback of an inconsistent start to the season.
After the fixture in Croatia, Tuchel acknowledged that his team had again under-performed, suggesting that his players were lacking in all areas of the pitch.
With the club having spent heavily in the transfer market and Tuchel being given the freedom to have a considerable say in new arrivals, there appeared to be little chance of the German being relieved from his duties.
However, on Wednesday morning, Chelsea announced that they had made the decision to part company with Tuchel, whose reign comes to an end after 100 matches.
© Reuters
A club statement read: "Chelsea Football Club has today parted company with Head Coach Thomas Tuchel.
"On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, the club would like to place on record its gratitude to Thomas and his staff for all their efforts during their time with the club. Thomas will rightly have a place in Chelsea's history after winning the Champions League, the Super Cup and Club World Cup in his time here.
"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.
"Chelsea's coaching staff will take charge of the team for training and the preparation of our upcoming matches as the club moves swiftly to appoint a new head coach."
© Reuters
Tuchel was appointed as the replacement for Frank Lampard in January 2021, and the change in the dugout was justified as Chelsea won the Champions League for the second time in their history at the end of that season with victory over Manchester City.
During the following campaign, Chelsea lifted the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup, but failure to challenge for the Premier League title and defeats in the EFL Cup and FA Cup finals on penalties meant that it had been a mixed year.
Events off the pitch did not help matters as owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned for his links to Vladimir Putin, who had ordered a military invasion of Ukraine.
After several months of restrictions, a consortium led by Todd Boehly eventually seized control of the West Londoners, the American working proactively as the interim sporting director to help Tuchel transform his squad in light of the departures of Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and Romelu Lukaku.
However, just seven competitive matches into the campaign and with Chelsea having collected 10 points from six Premier League games, Boehly has made the decision to make a change, Tuchel leaving Stamford Bridge with 60 wins and just 16 defeats.
Darren Plant
