Going to face LaLiga leaders Atletico Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday night, there was an element of unwanted symmetry for Chelsea.
Four of the back five that took to the field in Bucharest still wear the scars from that fateful night in Barcelona where they were out-matched and out-coached by Lionel Messi and Co.
The only personnel alteration this time round, in Chelsea’s first Champions League knock-out tie against Spanish opposition since bowing out in 2017-18 to Barcelona, was Callum Hudson-Odoi at right wing-back.
Thomas Tuchel has successfully tightened up a Chelsea defence that was frail in Barcelona
Four of the defenders who started in Barcelona in 2018 stood tall to shut down Atletico Madrid
Cesar Azpilicueta (front, left), Andreas Christensen (back, second left), Antonio Rudiger (back, fourth left) and Marcos Alonso (back, far right) all took part in the beatdown away in Barcelona
Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and Marcos Alonso were all part of the defence that was pierced after 128 seconds in Barcelona.
And yet what transpired against Atletico was totally different to what played out under the lights at the Nou Camp with Antonio Conte at the helm. Tuesday night’s masterclass was an exorcism of sorts for the demons of that night in Barcelona.
Thomas Tuchel is an obsessive and it translates in the sheer detail he applies to his preparation – something that has already showed itself in eight games at Chelsea.
He Atletico’d Atletico. Diego Simeone is widely seen as the doyen of defensive performances but it was Tuchel with the plaudits in Romania.
In fact, only one player has managed to breach Tuchel’s healing rearguard – Southampton’s Takumi Minamino – and for that the ex-Paris Saint-Germain coach deserves all the credit.
An obsession with stopping the counter-attack, getting a tune out of Christensen and Alonso and getting tough with his attackers to press from the front, Sportsmail looks at the science behind Tuchel’s success.
Stopping counter-attacks
This is central to Tuchel’s defensive philosophy, the Gegenpress that has proven popular – and successful – for Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola.
Often referred to as counter-pressing Tuchel stressed to his players that it was of vital importance to shut down opportunities for Atletico in transition.
Despite defending in deep numbers of seven, eight or nine, Atletico had a number of players with electric pace to punish Chelsea if they were ill-disciplined in their approach.
‘We wanted to dominate in the opponents’ half, to never lose concentration, not to do any easy mistakes and always be aware of quick counter-attacks for all their quality,’ Tuchel told BT Sport.
The Gegenpress, also known as the counter-press, is central to Tuchel’s philosophy as a boss
‘It was a very disciplined performance – a deserved shut-out. This is the hard work, a team effort – the basis for a big win.
‘We knew it [Atletico packing their defence] could happen. We told the guys if it happens maybe it’s our quality and the respect. We wanted to be brave and play in their half.
‘We knew they were ready to suffer with eight people in the box. The intention was to keep the intensity high. This is what we did very good.
‘We never let them breathe or come out for counter-attacks. We have a big reward with this result.’
Tuchel likes the structure a back three gives him and it offers more protection to the two midfielders ahead as he looks to dominate and impose his will on the game.
He often speaks about bravery on the ball in the opposition half and he has that right now in Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount.
Killing transition balls to Luis Suarez and Joao Felix kept Chelsea in control as they eventual broke through thanks to Olivier Giroud’s moment of magic.
He wants his team to not ‘let teams breathe’ and stifle any opportunity for transition attacks
Putting faith in Christensen
‘All the manager says is just be comfortable,’ Christensen said when asked how Tuchel had transformed a defence so scarred by the events of yesteryear.
‘If you don’t need to play the ball, you don’t have to. Wait for someone to come and take the ball, don’t take last-second decisions, know what you’re going to do and make it happen.’
Christensen, now 24, has been a revelation since coming into the side under Tuchel having lost his way under previous regimes.
Thiago Silva went off injured in the win over Tottenham and hasn’t played since but Christensen has seized his opportunity, repaying the faith shown in him by Tuchel.
‘He just said to us to be comfortable and believe in ourselves,’ the Danish centre back added.
Andreas Christensen has been one of the biggest beneficiaries since Tuchel got the job
He was exposed in defeat to Barcelona but now looks much more comfortable in a back three
‘I have played in the middle of the three before and I’m quite comfortable there.
‘At the moment, when we are playing good football and getting wins, it is helping us so we don’t have to do too much to change it.’
Suarez is one of the most in-form strikers in Europe this season and yet Christensen impressively muzzled the Uruguayan into very few clear-cut opportunities.
The 3-4-2-1 system suits Christensen and he is playing with a confidence and a freedom flanked by experience in Azpilicueta and Rudiger.
One of the shining lights of the early Tuchel era in west London.
Pressing from the front
Callum Hudson-Odoi may not have taken it personally but he did take it on board.
Tuchel bringing him on at half-time against Southampton, only to take him off 30 minutes later, was a message, not just to Hudson-Odoi but the entire squad.
Press from the front or get used to the bench.
‘I was not happy with his attitude, energy and counter-pressing,’ Tuchel said in his rationale for the Southampton switch.
‘I took him off and we demand 100 per cent, I feel he is not in the right shape to help us. It was a hard decision but tomorrow it is forgotten.’
Callum Hudson-Odoi showed he is learning fast under Tuchel when it comes to his demands
It was a major talking point after two dropped points at St Mary’s. Was it really down to his energy in pressing?
‘We needed counter-pressing to force errors for the second ball and get an easy chance,’ Tuchel continued.
‘We had to be sharp with counter-pressing and I didn’t feel this from Callum today. I did not feel it, but I trust him.’
That trust came to the fore on Tuesday as he got the nod to start at right wing-back and there were no qualms about the England youngster’s energy in and out of possession.
Reece James appears out of favour right now and right wing-back is a position Hudson-Odoi seems to be making his own following Tuchel’s tough love approach.
Tuchel expects players to press from the front to make defending an effort for the entire team
He was a constant outlet for Chelsea in Bucharest and spent most of his evening in Atletico’s half.
Sir Alex Ferguson successfully transitioned Antonio Valencia to a full-back from a winger at Manchester United and while it remains early days, a similar situation could be unfolding for Hudson-Odoi in this 3-4-2-1 system.
Tuchel clearly sees the potential within Hudson-Odoi and it is about unlocking that from beginning to end, offensively and defensively.
After a chastening experience at Southhampton, the 20-year-old pressed cleverly and was equal to Cesar Azpilicueta for the most tackles won by a Chelsea player on the night with two.
It closed the chapter on any talk of unrest amid the early substitution. It was, more than anything, the perfect embodiment of Tuchel’s science for success.
Alonso’s revival is key
Like Christensen, another player to profit massively from the arrival of Tuchel.
Frank Lampard had no place for Alonso and his future in west London looked to be over when a £50million deal was sanctioned for Ben Chilwell.
And yet it is Chilwell, not Alonso, who now finds himself out of the side, something Tuchel has put down to height and physicality rather than form.
‘It was not because we were unhappy with Chilwell but we opted for more size to defend set-pieces,’ Tuchel said recently.
Tuchel is said to favour Marcos Alonso as he offers a greater threat in the air for set pieces
‘Marcos is used to playing in this role (at left wing-back), he has good timing arriving in the box.’
Alonso has started six of Tuchel’s first eight matches and is now reportedly targeting a contract extension. Quite the turnaround.
The big feather in Alonso’s cap is that he is a specialist in the wing-back position.
It was a position he played so impressively under Antonio Conte and while Lampard did away with the Spaniard, he is back in a comfortable role and it shows.
His goal against Burnley showed he is in there for more than just his height, too.
Jorginho and Kovacic’s clear instructions
There is more to it than just the simplicity of Tuchel’s instructions but defined roles have definitely benefitted the two players anchoring Chelsea’s midfield.
They have played together in six of Tuchel’s eight games so far, both sitting out the FA Cup trip to Barnsley and Jorginho missing out against Southampton with N’Golo Kante partnering Kovacic.
It says something that Kante, a top earner and a two-time Premier League winner, is being kept out by Tuchel’s preferred partnership.
While the switch to a back five takes a midfielder out of the equation, Jorginho and Kovacic are offered greater protection behind them.
Mateo Kovacic (left) and Jorginho (right) are benefitting from defined roles under Tuchel
Both are deployed as a No 6 and Tuchel wants his front three, along with the two wing-backs, to form what, at times, can be a five-man attack.
That in turn shifts the focus for Jorginho and Kovacic towards retaining and recycling possession as well as acting as roadblocks for counter-attacks.
Chelsea have given up just 10 shots on target in the seven games where at least one of them has started, averaging out at 1.43 shots on target per 90 minutes.
The duo also have a tireless runner in Mason Mount ahead of them in one of the advanced No 10 roles which is an element vital to Tuchel’s success with this system.
The fact Mount and Jorginho are suspended for the second leg of the last-16 tie brings a number of complications to a midfield unit that has been settled since he arrived as Lampard’s successor.
