Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea might not have got the result they hoped for in the goalless stalemate against Wolves, but the Blues put on a peak passing display.
They relished a record-breaking share of possession, setting a new club record for the most passes completed in the first half of a Premier League match against Wolves. Chelsea saw 79% of the ball in the opening forty-five minutes, completing a total of 433 passes – the most since the start of the 2003/04 season. (OptaJoe)
As the match came to an end, Chelsea finished with 820 passes as opposed to Wolves’ lowly count of 170. Chelsea’s most impressive and positive point among all these statistics was the recorded pass accuracy of 92%.
Mateo Kovacic completed an impressive 149 passes, with 83 coming in the first half – fifteen less than the Premier League record set by Ilkay Gundogan who completed 164 passes in a 4-1 victory against Brighton & Hove Albion in 2018. (WhoScored)
Tuchel’s first game in-charge brought back memories of Sarri-ball as they put in a possession-rich performance without creating too many chances, constantly defied by a stern Wolves opposition.
The German just had one training session with the team before taking charge of the Premier League match.