Ajibade Olusesan 
Thomas Tuchel is masterminding a silent revolution since he took charge at Chelsea about a month ago and the true test for his work at Stamford Bridge comes on Sunday when his rejuvenated side faces old rivals Manchester United in an English Premier League tie.
The German inherited a vastly dispirited side from erstwhile Manager Frank Lampard; he met a club sitting below the Top 10 in the league after losing five of the last eight matches under the Englishman’s charge which inevitably ended the Chelsea legend’s reign at east London However, after a raft of steely performances, the German has guided the Blues to fifth position on the EPL log. Although Chelsea are yet to lose under the new man, it hasn’t been a rollercoaster ride for the Blues since the German came, but slow and steady the Tuchel’s men are getting the job done.
We haven’t seen that counter-pressing and attacking flair that is associated with Chelsea game in recent years but the coach seems to have sorted the defensive frailties that characterized the latter days of Lampard. Chelsea have kept six clean sheets in eight games under Tuchel.
It’s as many as they managed in the last 16 under Frank Lampard. In fact only one opposition player has scored against Chelsea with the other goal conceded by Antonio Rudiger who turned his shot into his own net in the 2-1 win at Sheffield United. The Blues’ performance in their impressive 1-0 win over Atletico in the Champions League on Tuesday typified how they have improved in defence under the German after they limited their hosts to just six shots with none of those on target. It has been a similar story for their EPL opponents as Chelsea have faced the fewest shots in the division and recorded the lowest expected goals. However, that improvement in their defence comes at a price as scoring of goals has become the opportunity cost. Chelsea haven’t been prolific in front of goal under the new man who has opted to put five men in his defence line.
They have yet to score more than twice in a game since he was installed; four times they have scored just one goal, three times they have scored twice, the other was a goalless draw for Tuchel’s first game against Wolves. Oliver Giroud scored the winner against Atletico and the German will hope his French forward steps up his game as they face arguably the busiest period under the coach when they will have to confront Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton Leeds United and the second leg of their round of 16 tie with the Spanish side. He has to also galvanize floundering Timo Werner, Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and injury-ravaged Christian Pulisic into encouraging performances so as to see out a successful revolution on the Bridge.
