Thomas Tuchel is the perfect manager for Chelsea [THREAD]

Having been influenced by both Pep and Klopp, Tuchel is the perfect mix of positional play and gegenpressing with a slight touch of pragmatism. Tuchel changes formation and personnel on a game-to-game basis while at the same time protecting his identity which we will discuss.

This thread is divided into 3 parts. The first part will be analysing Tuchel's Dortmund, the second part his PSG team. Part three will tie it all back to Chelsea

Part 1: Dortmund
Tuchel uses positional play principles to set up a good team structure where players will have maximum passing options, but he gives his players freedom to make decisions on the ball unlike other managers who use positional play.

(Dortmund lineup - 4-2-3-1)

To achieve a good positional structure Tuchel always keeps a 2-3-5/3-2-5 shape in possession.

(4-2-3-1 changes to a 2-3-5 when Kagawa moves into the left half space and Reus moves into the right half space. There is one forward on each vertical space)

Tuchel changes formation according to his opponent but still always keeps the 2-3-5 shape. In a different game BVB played a 4-3-3 but it was still a 2-3-5 in possession.

(Kagawa drops into the midfield 3, wingers tuck in, full backs push high.)

Here's a shot from the game itself. 2-3-5

Notice how Tuchel always wants his forwards to be linked in diagonal angles. This allows a more direct attacking approach as it prevents horizontal passes.

If a halfspace player receives the ball they can immediately pass it to a runner (fullbacks and striker)

Against more settled opposition usually the opposite is true. Tuchel often used Aubameyang as a target for long vertical ground passes which Auba would then lay off to a runner from the half space. Auba's link up isn't great but if he lost the ball it allowed BVB to counterpress

What I said about the diagonal angles from the half space to the runners is also true about the midfield. One of Weigl and Gundogan is always slightly deeper when playing in a pivot.

Tuchel teams will often advance through zigzag passing combinations because of this concept

Tuchel usually plays a back 3 just to switch to a 3-2-5 shape in possession. 2-3-5 is better for counter pressing and helps to win the ball back higher up the pitch in a safe manner while a 3-2-5 is more cautious as it gives you the extra man at the back to defend transitions.

One center back does have more freedom to push up but the ultimate goal is to have 3 players at the very back to outnumber Leverkusen’s front 2 on transitions

In this frame Pisczcek (RCB) has pushed up to midfield and is crossing into the box. We can’t see the back 3 but Weigl (defensive midfielder) is covering for Piszczek.

Dortmund still keep their 3-2-5 shape

When pressing out of possession, Tuchel’s dynamic front 3 usually does all the work in the first phase to force long balls. They do a very good job even if they get outnumbered. Most of Tuchel's formation changes are made to match the opponent when pressing

Part 2: PSG
Tuchel kept the consistent 2-3-5

The half space players are dropping deep to form diagonal angles but it’s still a front 5. PSG actually set up in a 4-2-2-2 formation this game but they still keep the 2-3-5 shape because Neymar tucks into the midfield 3

Neymar very often drops deep to receive the ball but an overlapping full back or even underlapping midfielder make sure the positional structure is solid. These rotations between player positions are PSG’s biggest threat vs low blocks.

They tire the opposition with runs from full backs, wingers and even midfielders and use the passing ability of Neymar/Verratti from deep to create chances.

Everyone’s strategy vs PSG is setting up in a low block but it was high pressing teams that actually caused problems for PSG. By matching PSG's 2-3-5, opponents cut out all passing options. This is where Tuchel started to struggle at PSG.

Neymar was key for moving the ball between the lines. The lack of players to play between the lines was the biggest problem for PSG. Players like Cavani, Icardi, Mbappe all want to stay on the front line while their only creative midfielder Verratti likes to play deep.

In this frame you can see Verratti finally receiving between the lines and he attemps a one-two with Mbappe who takes a bad touch resulting in a turnover. This problem at PSG is a personnel issue. Even Pochettino is playing Verratti as a #10 because of this.

Just like he did at BVB, Tuchel often set up in a 3-2-5. Except here he uses Marquinhos as his 3rd defender who can play as a DM allowing flexibility to switch to a 2-3-5 when needed. Piszczek as the 3rd CB at Dortmund is naturally a right back so he also provided flexibility.

Part 3: Chelsea
The best thing about our squad that suits Tuchel the most is the variety of player profiles we have. Tuchel loves to use different personnel for different purposes depending on how he thinks fits best the opponent.

Tuchel loves dynamic full backs that stretch the pitch and wingers or a #10 playing in the half spaces between the lines. We saw this from his previous two clubs. Although Chilwell is perfect for this, Reece James is not very dynamic. So there are two ways Tuchel can use him

1. Invert Reece and push one midfielder up (Havertz?)

2. Tuchel loves to be able to play a 3 at the back with the 3rd defender being more flexible with his position. Chelsea have no defensive midfielders who like to form a back 3. But Reece James would be perfect for this and we’ve already seen Tuchel do the same thing with Piszczek

With Livramento, a dynamic right back, coming through the Chelsea academy, I can see this happening in a 3-4-3.

One thing that Tuchel loves but he couldn’t have in his previous 2 clubs is a target man. At PSG he struggled because his strikers couldn’t play between the lines. He even bought Choupo-Moting at PSG because he was desperate for a target man.

At Dortmund he played vertical passes to Auba. But it was Adam Szalai from his Mainz team that was thriving under him. Giroud is perfect for this with his one touch layoffs but Tuchel actually prefers Tammy’s profile. The target man has to be mobile and Adam Szalai was just that.

Remember how the halfspace players would drop deep at dortmund while the striker and wing players made runs? At Chelsea it will be reversed because we have a target man. The striker will drop deep and the halfspace players will make runs.

Runs from the halfspaces also means Werner and Havertz will thrive. Both players are perfect for this.

There’s also the chance that Tuchel just sticks to his Dortmund methods and plays Werner striker like he did Aubameyang. And this also suits Chelsea because we have players who play well between the lines and in the half spaces. Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech, Pulisic.

We often saw Neymar drop deep to form a midfield 3 at PSG and Ousmane Dembele did the same thing at BVB sometimes. If Hudson-Odoi plays on the left wing I can see Tuchel turning him into that kind of player who’s always on the ball.

At Dortmund, Tuchel played a Weigl/Gundogan pivot. Weigl was the controller and deeper CM while Gundogan dribbled to progress the ball. If Tuchel wanted to replicate his Dortmund midfield, he has the same profile as Weigl in Jorginho and a ball carrying pivot player in Kovacic.

At PSG, Tuchel played Marquinhos in DM to prevent transitions while Verratti was the creator. He has the players to do this at Chelsea too. Christensen can play centre-back and DM while Gilmour is a similar profile to Verratti and would improve under Tuchel.

Tuchel did use workhorses at PSG and he wanted his midfielders making runs into the box when Neymar would play deeper so he might also mix Mount and Kante into his midfield to form a balanced trio.

The system I showed previously with a target man is how Havertz will ideally be used. Any other way I don’t see him being an effective playmaker between the lines. One other way Havertz can be used (very unlikely) is as a target man. https://twitter.com/DictatorJorgi/status/1345720720727420928?s=20

Tuchel is the perfect manager for Chelsea and he knows this too, which is why his agents are trying so hard to get him this job. Tuchel's vision at his clubs has always been to build a humble, collective team. What better mentality is there for the development of our youth?

End of thread. Retweets are highly appreciated especially for the fact I spelled Piszczek correctly every single time without looking it up.