Thomas Tuchel has sensationally been sacked by Chelsea following Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, the Blues have confirmed.
The German was appointed as the successor to club legend Frank Lampard in January 2021 and led Chelsea to UEFA Champions League glory with a 1-0 win over Manchester City in May of that year.
Further success followed in the form of UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup trophies, but Tuchel also lost two FA Cup finals and an EFL Cup final – beaten on penalties by Liverpool in both domestic cups last term.
British government sanctions on former owner Roman Abramovich amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine eventually led to a change of ownership with a consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly completing the £4.25 billion deal.
Chelsea have been active in the transfer market, bringing in the likes of Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella.
However, the Blues have had an indifferent start to the season, winning three, losing two and drawing one of their opening six Premier League games to sit sixth in the table.
Tuesday’s shock defeat to Dinamo convinced the club’s new owners that the time was right to make a change.
A club statement read: “On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, the club would like to express its thanks to Thomas and his staff for all their efforts during his time at the club.
“Thomas will have the right to have a place in Chelsea history after winning the Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup here.
“With the new ownership group reaching 100 days since taking over the club and continuing their hard work to move the club forward, the new owners believe the time is right for this transition.
“Chelsea Training will take charge of the squad for training and preparation for our upcoming matches as the club quickly moves on to a new head coach.”