Chelsea 0-0 Wolves: Talking points from Thomas Tuchel's first game with the Blues
The mood before the Chelsea v Wolves game was an anxious one. Club legend Frank Lampard was jettisoned out to make way for ex-PSG manager Thomas Tuchel only a couple of days ago.
Both the Chelsea board and the fans would've expected an immediate uptick in form after the appointment. They just had two wins from the last eight league fixtures.
Stamford Bridge was the setting for the German's first outing as the Chelsea manager and the world looked on as he selected his first XI:
Tuchel's side bossed the possession tonight with 79% of the ball, but had very few chances to show for it. Just five shots on target, and only two of them looked like they might actually go in.
Wolves' defence was incredibly resilient, with mostly everyone but Neto in their own half to slow down the barrage of Chelsea attacks.
Wolves didn't offer much on the attacking front themselves as the match finished in a goalless draw.
Here are the talking points from the fixture.
#1 Chelsea's change of style
Under Lampard, Chelsea's approach in attack and defence used to be markedly different than what we saw from Tuchel's first outing.
Chelsea's backline was set-up with a more defence first approach despite Chelsea having the lion's share of the ball.
Azpilicueta over Reece James meant less penetration down the right flank too, but the general idea seems pretty clear.
Tuchel wants his full-backs to provide defensive stability over attacking output.
The midfield was set up more to accommodate the mercurial Kai Havertz, with Jorginho and Kovacic sitting behind him to dictate play from deep.
The signs look promising but Giroud's lack of incisiveness and mobility hindered Chelsea's play instead of helping it.
#2 Chelsea's pass frenzy
Chelsea recorded a total of 433 passes completed in the first 45 minutes of the game.
Whilst most of the passes didn't have much intent going forward, they were an outlier of what is to come for Chelsea.
The Blues played crisp short passes with each player always having options to pass sideways, forward or backward.
Lampard's fairytale had a tragic ending, but from its ashes may yet rise a new vibrant Chelsea that could become a neutral's fantasy.