Have somehow become a little bit likeable despite still being owned by a man who won’t set foot in the country.
At the end of last season
The absolute definition of a season of two halves. Languishing in 9th after Match Day 19, Frank Lampard’s last in charge, Thomas Tuchel’s appointment spurred on a truly remarkable four months that saw them beat Man City 3 times, most importantly in the Champions League final.
What’s happened since then?
Not much yet, although the signing of Romelu Lukaku 7 years after he left Stamford Bridge is surely only just around the corner. They’ve also managed to sell more than £60 million worth of players without anyone noticing, which is pretty impressive.
Current Starting XI
Tuchel employed a 5-3-2 formation almost exclusively once he arrived at Chelsea, which allowed the full-backs and the second-coming of Jesus which is Kai Havertz to play well (a bit of this may be projection on my part). He’ll surely continue like this until Lukaku is finalised, after which all bets are off as he tries to fit over £300 million of attackers and Mason Mount into a team.
The Manager
Is very unlucky to be the second most likeable German manager in the league. Tuchel arrived with something of a reputation as a tactical mastermind, and he’s done nothing so far to show that he doesn’t deserve it, having improved pretty much every Chelsea player since his arrival. Pep’s absolute bottling of the Champions League final probably didn’t hurt, mind.
Player to Watch
Timo Werner. Was a little bit shit last season, but the arrival of Lukaku will give him a proper striker to play off, a position he relished with Leipzig.
Where will they finish?
2nd, hopefully Tuchel will finally stop his creepy stalking of Klopp once he finishes higher in the league.
Goalposts For Goalposts 