Thomas Tuchel has completed his first full season in England now and it has been an up and down one. Off the back of winning the Champions League, Chelsea signed “missing piece in the jigsaw” Romelu Lukaku, and began the season in fine fettle. However, what followed was a turbulent season, with loss of form, injuries, back-stage issues contributing to inconsistent performances on the field.
A third placed finish is not bad, but finishing 19 points behind Champions Man City certainly is. Dropping points from winning positions, especially at home, prevented Chelsea from mounting a sustained title challenge. In the domestic cups, Tuchel guided Chelsea to two cup finals, losing both to Liverpool on penalties. In the Champions League, a quarter-final defeat to eventual winners Real Madrid ended their defense.
Thomas Tuchel ended his first full season in England season with the Club World Cup, a third placed finish and two cup finals. But how does this compare to Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola’s first seasons in England?
Thomas Tuchel – First full season in 2021/22
Premier League: 3rd (74 points, +43 goal difference)
Champions League: Quarter-final (lost to Real Madrid, 4-5 aggregate)
FA Cup: Final (lost to Liverpool, 0-0, 5-6 on penalties)
EFL Cup: Final (lost to Liverpool, 0-0, 10-11 on penalties)
Pep Guardiola – First full season in 2016/17
Premier League: 3rd (78 points, +41 goal difference)
Champions League: Round of 16 (lost to Monaco, 6-6 aggregate, on away goals)
FA Cup: Semi-final (lost 1-2 to Arsenal)
EFL Cup: Fourth round (lost 0-1 to Man United)
Jurgen Klopp – First full season in 2016/17
Premier League: 4th (76 points, +36 goal difference)
Champions League: Did not play
FA Cup: Fourth round (lost 1-2 to Wolves)
EFL Cup: Semi-final (lost to Southampton, 0-2 aggregate)
So there you have it. Looking purely at stats, you can see Tuchel has done better than the other two. In Premier League, the trio have close enough finishes. Guardiola’s City scored 80 goals, Klopp 78 and Tuchel 76, while Pep conceded 39, Klopp 42, and Tuchel 33. In cup competitions, Tuchel has done much better than both. These stats however, don’t do justice to Pep, as both Klopp and Tuchel were appointed midway through the previous seasons, and hence they had more time.
But still, given how much Klopp and Guardiola have achieved following their first full seasons, signs are Tuchel can follow suit. Even though this season hasn’t lived up to its expectations, having spent all that money on an under-performing Lukaku, with a little more time, Tuchel can work wonders with this club. He has already outperformed Klopp and Guardiola in terms of first full season, he can do that in the long run also.