The significance of Thomas Tuchel’s first Champions League win with Chelsea

An affair touted as two bright football masterminds clashing in the Champions League Round of 16 ended in a handy 1-0 away victory to Thomas Tuchel’s Blues.

Chelsea faced stern competition in the form of La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid who they now boast a lofty record against; being the only English team to win against them twice.

It was nothing less of a shock to see Diego Simeone enter the game with his now popular 3-5-2 formation, which has evolved from his previous low block 4-4-2 that became synonymous with the style to expect from Los Colchoneros.

Simeone’s curious approach to the game came in the form of setting up in a defensive shape of a 6-3-1 behind the ball as the reliable yet versatile, Marcos Llorente, was tasked with sticking to his man in Timo Werner.

The Chelsea man continuously ran into the half-spaces between the compact low block and the same could be said of Hermoso with Mason Mount and Thomas Lemar with Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Chelsea owned 64% ball possession, putting together 677 passes compared to Atletico’s inferior 397 passes and 36% ball possession.

Atleti faced the problem of lacking numbers going forward when winning the ball back as the two wingbacks were usually deep inside their own half and the counter commonly began with just 3 to 4 players versus a similar defensive setup in Chelsea, with one being an aging Luis Suarez.

Suarez’s mission remained unchanged going into this game as the reliable No.9, tasked with finding key spaces in the small pockets and running into the channels behind the pairing of Antonio Rudiger & Marcos Alonso.

A player who looked revived under Simeone this season and an attacking partner to Suarez, Felix, struggled under what looked like a tall task from the manager to fill a need at playing as a left wingback halfway into the game as opposed to his familiar role of a deep-lying forward just behind the striker; picking up runs just into the opponent’s half.

One downside to the newly invented formation rolled out by Atletico Madrid this season entails that once they find themselves pressing higher up the pitch, the tendency to find one of the opponent’s wingbacks/wingers in acres of space is worryingly high.

Due to this, Tuchel’s adaptability allowed for Chelsea to exploit this through their growing ability to comfortably play from the back. Marcos Alonso was the player regularly found in space along the left flank and the penetration he offered in the form of early crosses into danger areas and passes back across the outside of the penalty area.

Alonso, a player who found himself on the fringe under the departed Frank Lampard, has cherished a revival in minutes as he leap-frogged £50million signing Ben Chilwell in the pecking order. Many consider it a bold statement carried out by the big personality in Thomas Tuchel.

A solution to Diego Simeone’s attacking issues could have come in the form of Moussa Dembele, a loan from Lyon last month.

Dembele came to Madrid as a talented forward whose intrigue comes in the form of a 6’0 powerhouse capable of supplying the needed hold-up play for midfielders; wingbacks alike to progress the attack further as well as, a player that can stretch the play further than his position of a No.9.

On the other side of the pitch, a certain 34-year-old netted yet again for the Blues.

Olivier Giroud found himself as the starting striker for Tuchel in a game that demanded the composure and spontaneity of the veteran.

A player whose elite hold-up play reminds Timo of what he once had in Yussuf Poulsen, the attacking duo + Mason Mount regularly found themselves pouncing on deflections within the final third until one of those ultimately ended up at the mercy of another one of Giroud’s miraculous moments.

Mason Mount, a key cog in the bright start Tuchel has had in West London, has consistently found himself deployed as a No.10 or one of the attacking midfielders behind the striker.

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His ability to locate slots and pockets of space behind the defensive line, receive a ball and create glimpses of magic on the half turns and quickly relay back to the midfielders or spray it out to the wide players are all that have caught the attention of the manager, who has rewarded him with 6 starts in a row.

His naturally progressive playstyle is a joy to watch and coupled with his eagerness to press forward and win the ball back are evident in his impressive 3.2 tackles and interceptions per 90.

Behind the 22-year-old lie a solid defensive structure in Mateo Kovačić and Jorginho, who both lack the direct attributes needed of defensive midfielders (in varying degrees) in a pivot but have benefitted a great deal from the tactical capabilities of Thomas Tuchel.

Tuchel has them playing within triangles composed of the wingback and one of the attacking midfielders.

This allows for those players trapped inside to be nullified and not count against the control of the flow of possession which in turn, controls the game.

A diamond-like shape in midfield by the opponents marks an eerily similar setup to the one deployed by former manager Jose Mourinho with Tottenham earlier this month.

Diego Simeone will hope his team bounces back on the 17th of March when they take their turn as the away team, desperate to spoil the party.

We wonder if he will take kindly to turning back to his former 4-4-2 and back to comfortable territory.

Do you think Chelsea will end up progressing through the Round of 16? Or will Thomas Tuchel’s men crumble under the pressure of El Loco? Let us know in the comment below.