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Three of Thomas Tuchel’s best moments during his one year at Chelsea

By Gabe Henderson

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 23: Head Coach Thomas Tuchel of Chelsea celebrates after Thiago Silva scores a goal to make it 2-0 during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on January 23, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 23: Head Coach Thomas Tuchel of Chelsea celebrates after Thiago Silva scores a goal to make it 2-0 during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on January 23, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images) /
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BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND – AUGUST 11: Thomas Tuchel the head coach / manager of Chelsea celebrates after his team scores the opening goal to make it 1-0 during the UEFA Super Cup 2021 Final between Chelsea FC and Villarreal CF at Windsor Park on August 11, 2021 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND – AUGUST 11: Thomas Tuchel the head coach / manager of Chelsea celebrates after his team scores the opening goal to make it 1-0 during the UEFA Super Cup 2021 Final between Chelsea FC and Villarreal CF at Windsor Park on August 11, 2021 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images) /

2. The Super Cup victory

I’m going to apologize in advance for spoiling No. 1 on this list; not that it was a big secret anyway. Chelsea’s second-ever Champions League triumph saw it book another ticket to the UEFA Super Cup. This is the trophy that has eluded the Blues for quite some time (my entire life to be exact) for one reason or another, most recently following the loss to Liverpool in penalties during the 2019 Super Cup. Chelsea had tried three previous times to win the trophy following European glory, coming up short against continental powerhouses Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and the aforementioned Scousers. Long story short, this is a trophy the Blues wanted desperately to win.

As has been the case throughout much of his time in charge (thanks, Coronavirus), Tuchel was once again tasked with pulling a rabbit out of a hat under the brightest lights. Euro 2020’s postponement to the summer of 2021 meant a lot of the European internationals within the Chelsea squad were not quite match fit going into this tie. Nor had Tuchel received his striker reinforcements in the form of club-record signing Romelu Lukaku. The 48-year-old selected a team that included Trevoh Chalobah making his competitive debut for the Blues, Kurt Zouma, who was later sold, and Callum Hudson-Odoi as a right wingback. The team was asked to fend off the reigning UEFA Europa League champion, Villarreal.

Hakim Ziyech opened the scoring in the 27′ before coming off with a major shoulder injury. This disrupted the entire flow of the game as the Moroccan—who was in fine form—dictated the way in which Chelsea was playing throughout the first 30 minutes. After that, it was the same old story from the Blues. They got into good areas and created chancesbut lacked the lethal finishes. Gerard Moreno equalized with about 15 minutes to go and Chelsea’s destiny looked sealed again, the club was well on its way to another heartbreaking defeat in the Super Cup.

Tuchel took a huge gamble shortly before the end of extra time, using his last substitution to take goalkeeper Edouard Mendy out of the game. He brought on Kepa Arrizabalaga, the club’s No. 2 shot-stopper, for the penalty shootout with a major European trophy on the line. Tuchel’s risk paid off and the Spaniard helped break the curse with his penalty-saving heroics. Tuchel went from a club legend to a deity that day as he gave Blues supporters yet another reason to celebrate. This helped set the tone for the current campaign, one in which Chelsea has an opportunity to win more trophies than any team in club history.

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