Chelsea v Burnley: The Blues secure a much needed win in Tuchel's second game in charge

Good afternoon everyone!

I hope you are well and having a good start to the month. So a lot has happened since I last posted. Chelsea won 3-1 in the FA Cup against Luton Town to progress to the next round and the morning after Frank Lampard was sacked as the manager of Chelsea with former PSG and Borussia Dortmund Thomas Tuchel on a 18 month deal. If you want to understand what led to his downfall, here's a link to a video by  The Athletic UK.

So Tuchel's first game ended goalless against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Bridge last Wednesday night despite dominating the possession and having the better chances but it was refreshing to see the team make more passes (820)  and have more chances. It was also good to see players like Marcos Alonso and Antonio Rüdiger play after being frozen out by Lampard since last year September. Looks like 3-4-3 worked to a certain extent against the Wolves but what was missing was goals. This shows that the German coach is more flexible than Lampard ,who consisted with 4-3-3 and barely used other formations or tactics.

Anyway lets focus on Sunday's game against Burnley that the Blues won 2-0 with goals from Alonso and captain Cesar Azpilicueta. Both good finishes and both by Spanish full backs who didn't play a lot of games in the league this year under Lampard. Of course it would have been nice to have Werner score but he will come good,as well as Havertz. Tuchel is definitely the man to get the best out of the German internationals. Similar to the game on Wednesday, Chelsea dominated the possession against a stubborn and resolute Burnley side who beat Liverpool at Anfield and Aston Villa at Turf Moor despite falling behind so they were definitely the team in form. The defence and midfield did their jobs and kept the Clarets at bay throughout the 90 minutes at the Bridge. The forward play was also fluid but they couldn't score. No need to panic as the goals will definitely come as Thomas Tuchel is known foe getting the best out of players with his meticulous preparations on the training ground. Just ask Pulisic and Thiago Silva. Is playing a back 3 the way forward? I think so yes but the gaffer is bound to change as the season goes on so stay tuned.

So the win moves the Blues to 7th place, 6 points off 4th place after Leicester's surprise defeat against Leeds on Sunday ,Man United's goalless draw at Arsenal on Saturday night and Spurs losing to Brighton. So one could say that this was a good weekend for the Blues.

Next up is a feisty London derby against Tottenham Hotspurs on Thursday night at Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium. This will be a tightly contested game with 2 London rivals competing to qualify for the Champions League next year despite looking like title contenders over 6 weeks ago. Or in Chelsea's case spending close to €250 million on players who of course need to gel and get used to the Premier League but come next season they'll definitely be up to speed with the English game. 

So what are your predictions? Feel free to comment on the article or on any of my social media accounts. I say it'll be too close to call but I think Chelsea will edge it 2-1 as there'll be no Harry Kane to worry about. 

Thank you so much for reading my article. Have a good week, stay safe and keep on supporting The Blues from wherever you may be.

Till Friday when I'll do an analysis of the derby.

PS In case you missed Sunday's match , here are the highlights. Happy viewing!


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