The announcement that some feared but not many expected arrived on Wednesday morning: Chelsea have sacked head coach Thomas Tuchel.
This bombshell was dropped out of the blue following the club's embarrassing defeat away to Dinamo Zagreb, with the Premier League giants losing 1-0 in their opening match of the 2022/23 season.
However, this was not a one-off result. The London giants have endured a rough start to the Premier League season as well, winning only three of their opening six games while losing two. This has been merely a continuation of their horrible form in 2022.
"On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, the Club would like to place on record its gratitude to Thomas and his staff for all their efforts during their time with the Club. Thomas will rightly have a place in Chelsea's history after winning the Champions League, the Super Cup and Club World Cup in his time here," the statement on the club's official website read.
"As the new ownership group reaches 100 days since taking over the Club, and as it continues its hard work to take the club forward, the new owners believe it is the right time to make this transition.
"Chelsea's coaching staff will take charge of the team for training and the preparation of our upcoming matches as the Club moves swiftly to appoint a new head coach."
As mentioned earlier, this announcement came the morning after the Blues' embarrassing 1-0 loss away to Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League. Despite fielding four of their major summer signings, starting Tuesday's fixture with Sterling, Aubameyang, Koulibaly, and Fofana on the pitch, Tuchel's men were uninspiring in front of goal once again and lost to a Mislav Orsic goal in the 13th minute.
However, according to the reliable Ben Jacobs of CBS Sports, the sacking of Tuchel wasn't simply down to that defeat at the Stadion Maksimir. According to him, communication between the head coach and Todd Boehly broke down on occasion during the summer and this led to the belief that a new manager who is "both a fit [for] the team and business" would be ideal.
There is no replacement lined up as of now, meaning the coaching staff will take temporary charge. The search for a new head coach has already begun, but it is unlikely that someone will be appointed in time for Saturday's trip to Fulham, with next Wednesday's showdown with RB Salzburg or the clash with Liverpool on September 18 being more likely.
