It’s hard to believe that this was the first time that Jose Mourinho has faced Thomas Tuchel as a manager, and it is safe to say that the German won this first encounter.
Tuchel has always been known for a manager heavily invested in tactics, formations and in-game switches. Against Tottenham this week, we saw all of his strengths as he reacted to Mourinho’s tactical switches during the game.
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Chelsea started well on top as Spurs sat back and tried to soak up the pressure. Tuchel’s side should really have gone in more than just 1-0 up at half time.
In the second half Mourinho moved his team much higher up the pitch and pressed Chelsea, this made it more of a competition.
However, this emphasised the genius of Tuchel’s 3-4-2-1 formation and how it can totally transition in-game to a more defensive setup if they need to soak up pressure themselves, which they did need to do at times in the second half.
The formation was actually more like a 3-4-1-2 when Chelsea were attacking and controlling possession. As you can see from the image below, Hudson-Odoi was pretty much playing as a striker alongside Timo Werner, and Mason Mount was dropping slightly deeper into the hole.
But perhaps the most clever thing about Tuchel’s setup, is the two different formations that he uses in and out of possession.
Above is in possession, but when they are under pressure themselves they easily transition into a more defensive looking 5-3-1-1 or a 5-3-2 formation, as shown below.
On the far side there you can see Alonso who has dropped well in to the left back position, as has James on the other sides, thus creating the 5 at the back.
In conclusion, this setup gives you a formation that is ready-made to play against most teams, even the better teams. If Chelsea need to breakdown a stubborn defence, then the attacking overload and ability to play through the middle as well as the flanks with the wing-backs, stands them in good stead to create plenty of chances.
However, if they are up against a good attacking team and need to create low blocks and defend in numbers themselves, they can easily transition to that.
It will be interesting to see if Tuchel sticks with this formation against a Manchester City for example.
