London, September 7 (BNA) Chelsea sacked coach Thomas Tuchel on Wednesday, a day after his team suffered a shock 1-0 defeat away to Dinamo Zagreb in their opening Champions League match.
The Premier League club confirmed on its website that it has parted ways with the German coach who led Chelsea to the Champions League title in his first season, Reuters reported.
“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,” the club said.
“Thomas will rightly have a place in Chelsea’s history after winning the Champions League, Super Cup and the Club World Cup in his time here.”
While Chelsea haven’t started the season well, having lost two of their first six Premier League games, Tuchel’s exit still represents a surprising move.
He had an immediate impact when he replaced Frank Lampard in January 2021, reviving the team’s Premier League season and taking them to the Champions League final where they beat Manchester City.
Under Tuchel’s leadership, Chelsea also won the European Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup last season.
Chelsea finished third in the Premier League last season after the expected challenge against Manchester City and Liverpool failed to achieve domestic dominance.
They also reached the FA Cup and League Cup finals, losing to Liverpool on penalties on every occasion.
Tuchel, the former manager of Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund, is the first management casualty since new American owner Todd Buhle took over the club.
“With the new ownership group reaching 100 days since they took over the club, and as they continue to work hard to move the club forward, the new owners believe this is the time to make this transition,” the statement said.
Club fans were aware of the managerial sackings during the long reign of Russian billionaire former owner Roman Abramovich, but Tuchel’s departure after 99 games with the club was unexpected.
Although there are signs of stagnation with Chelsea winning just seven of their last 16 Premier League games.
Attention will now turn to Tuchel’s successor with former Tottenham Hotspur coach and PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino, a potential target for West Londoners.
“The Chelsea coaching staff will be responsible for training the team and preparing for our next matches as the club moves quickly to appoint a new coach,” the club said.
“There will be no further comment until a new coach is appointed.”