Thomas Tuchel may need more than an hour on the training ground in Cobham to get the Chelsea team to play exactly as he wants, but there were many of his tactical fingerprints in Wednesday’s goalless draw with the Wolves – more perhaps than that he expected.
“When I look at this game, I am very surprised, as I fully identify with what I did (in training),” he said.
“I would like to have a stadium full of fans here and we saw 16 recoveries in the last third, which is incredible for the intensity and energy on the pitch. We managed to put the game completely in the opponent’s midfield, we managed to stop the counterattacks very early, we created many half-chances. “
Whether fans who attend Stamford Bridge in normal times would be willing to be enthusiastic about the show, right after the relentless dismissal of club legend Frank Lampard on Monday, is another question.