Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea - One year in: His Champions League win was glorious but there's still headaches at home... now the German must win over doubters again with more trophies to please Roman

• e-mail

Chelsea had 78.9 per cent possession and completed 820 passes but couldn't put the ball in the Wolves net.

On the touchline of an empty Stamford Bridge, Thomas Tuchel was a blur of movement, throwing his arms in the air in exasperation as another painstakingly crafted move broke down.

His first game as Chelsea manager, against an opponent winless in six league games and low on confidence, ended goalless and few fans were immediately convinced.

It's exactly one year since Thomas Tuchel was appointed Chelsea manager, the day after Frank Lampard was fired, and had a socially distanced unveiling with Marina Granovskaia 

Tuchel was an animated touchline presence as he took charge of his first game a day later

But Chelsea were left frustrated as they dominated but failed to score against Wolves 

Not that it was Tuchel's fault he'd replaced a club legend in Frank Lampard. 

In fact, in discussions with Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia about taking the job, the German questioned whether the club really wanted to dispense with such a popular figure only to be told the decision was made.

Nor was he Chelsea's first choice. They wanted Ralf Rangnick to come in on a four-month interim basis but Tuchel's compatriot turned them down because he felt it wasn't enough time to make any meaningful difference.

And having just been fired on Christmas Eve by Paris Saint-Germain, following a bitter falling out with the club's hierarchy over transfer policy, did he really want to join a club where managers in the past have felt the heavy weight of Roman Abramovich's influence?

In the end, he did and a year on from his arrival at Stamford Bridge, Tuchel will reflect on incredible high points and a good few frustrations. 

But, on balance, he has proved absolutely the right appointment and job has been the right one for him.

The season ended on a high with Tuchel delivering Chelsea the Champions League trophy

The German cracks open the champagne in the dressing room after the win over Man City

When Chelsea beat Manchester City to win the Champions League for the second time last May, just four months after Tuchel came in, they looked strongly-placed to surge past both City and Liverpool domestically.

Things haven't quite worked out like that. 

Chelsea are an effective cup team - they won the UEFA Super Cup in August, are into the Carabao Cup final and will probably be crowned world champions in Abu Dhabi next month. 

The FA Cup and the Champions League remain up for grabs this season and you'd expect them to be in the conversation.

But the current 10-point gap to leaders City in the Premier League really does resemble a chasm. 

Tuchel would point to plenty of mitigating factors but his team have not been able to use that Porto triumph as a springboard to end a five-year wait for league success.

They've won just three of their last 10 league games - the same underwhelming record that proved fatal for Lampard 12 months ago - and Tuchel won't be disappointed to look at the fixture list and not see another league game until February 19.

Progress in cup competitions has been balanced against a real slog in the league, the situation made worse by injuries, Covid and squad fatigue caused by the relentless fixture list that goes hand-in-hand with English football.

Yet there's no question of Tuchel being axed as Lampard was. His relationship with Abramovich, who rewarded that European win by extending his initial 18-month contract by a further two years, is sound; likewise with Granovskaia and his technical advisor Petr Cech.

Chelsea backed up their Champions League win by winning the UEFA Super Cup in Belfast

But there was agony at Wembley in the FA Cup final as Chelsea were beaten by Leicester City

Tuchel has been pleasantly surprised by the support structure Chelsea put in place for him, a stark contrast to PSG where his relationship with director of football Leonardo deteriorated into a public war of words over signings.

And having dealt with the egos of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe at the Parc des Princes, player management has been for the most part easier at Chelsea.

Tuchel also likes London but is recognised far more in public than in Paris, where apparently nobody ever realised who he was. 

On a day off in October, Tuchel took his two daughters for a day out and sat on a carousel with his baseball cap pulled down, a mask on and collar up, trying not to be seen.

He won immediate favour with the broader Chelsea squad by giving everyone a clean slate and this meant players who'd been frozen out by Lampard such as Antonio Rudiger, Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso and Jorginho instantly warmed to him.

One of Tuchel's first acts after taking over was to give each player a fresh chance to impress

Marcos Alonso was one of those frozen out under Lampard who returned to the fold

Tuchel also played it clever with goalkeepers Edouard Mendy and Kepa Arrizabalaga. 

Mendy was told he would be first choice but Kepa was handed just enough appearances to keep motivated and won the Super Cup with crucial penalty shoot-out saves against Villarreal.

Most of Chelsea's players would speak favourably of their manager. Let's not forget that Mason Mount was surprisingly benched for that Wolves game but Tuchel quickly realised he couldn't do without him.

'From day one, as players we realised how he gives his game plan,' the England midfielder said of Tuchel this week. 'It made it easy for us to go onto the pitch and do it.

'As a team we are players who react off that and adapt very quickly. It made it easy and we want to play in there big teams and win trophies.

'That has always been our goal and since he has come in, he has pushed us and we have definitely had the opportunity to win big games and play in finals.'

Mason Mount was one of the players who became integral to Tuchel's Chelsea team 

Chelsea had hoped to challenge Man City in the Premier League but are 10 points behind

But as many leaders throughout history have discovered, you can't please all of the people all of the time.

Certainly Tuchel's biggest headache at the moment is how to get the best out of record £98million signing Romelu Lukaku.

More abstract concerns like finding a true playing identity for Chelsea are secondary to more practical, short-term issues. 

The Belgian was meant to be the catalyst for Chelsea taking that next step to compete for the Premier League with City but a return of just eight goals in 24 games has been seriously underwhelming.

And that's before you consider Lukaku's Sky Italia interview before Christmas when he criticised Chelsea's tactics and confessed his enduring affection for Inter Milan.

Tuchel's patience seemed to snap when he expressed his unhappiness with Lukaku's performance in the defeat to Manchester City earlier this month.

'He had many ball losses without any pressure, many ball losses in very promising circumstances and he had a huge chance,' Tuchel moaned.

Chelsea are blessed with so many brilliant attacking options even without Lukaku - Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Mount, Kai Havertz and Callum Hudson-Odoi - but it clicks so rarely and lately they've had too many draws that should have been wins.

Another urgent matter needing attention is the expiring contracts of Rudiger, Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen, all set to expire this summer.

Will Tuchel be content to let all three depart and then re-mould the back line in his own image with summer investment? It could be a risky strategy - they failed to sign Sevilla's Jules Kounde last summer when Tuchel wanted him.

Roman Abramovich rewarded Tuchel with a contract extension after their European success

You have to go back to Jose Mourinho to find the last Chelsea manager given multiple transfer windows to make their mark on Chelsea's playing personnel.

Lampard, Maurizio Sarri, Antonio Conte and a good few inbetween Mourinho's two spells were never given that opportunity. Who knows if Tuchel will get that given Chelsea's record of rapid hiring and firing?

If they end the season without any more silverware, Tuchel will be able to put together a case for his defence based on circumstances.

The super-reliable N'Golo Kante has endured injury problems, while first-choice wing-backs Reece James and Ben Chilwell have been sidelined.

Ahead of the goalless draw at Wolves on December 19, Tuchel reported seven Covid cases within his squad and Chelsea tried and failed to get the game postponed.

Solving the riddle of how to get the best out of £98m striker Romelu Lukaku is a top priority 

But such problems aren't unique to them, with so many Premier League sides decimated by a Covid and injury pile-ups.

It must have stretched Tuchel's patience in recent weeks because it's contributed to Chelsea dropping crucial points in a title race that looked set to be electric until City pulled remorselessly clear over Christmas.

The manager's only known dressing down of his players came at half-time against Tottenham back in September and had the desired effect with three second-half goals. There's likely to have been more of late.

So while Tuchel is safe and secure enough for now, he must get some league wins on the board and they have to finish in the top four.

Manchester United in fourth are nine points behind but have two games in hand and Chelsea cannot afford to fall back into the pack.

If Chelsea's slide takes them down out of the Champions League places, the picture will become less rosy and winning things like the Club World Cup and the Carabao Cup will become irrelevant.

One year in and Tuchel has made progress and enjoyed brilliant successes. But he still has much to do and has much to prove.