In what was an enthralling fixture on Saturday, Chelsea F.C defeated Manchester City F.C 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League Final in Portugal. As the proceedings came to a close, the underlying feeling surrounding the encounter was that Pep Guardiola got his tactics wrong on the day. However, little attention has been paid to how Thomas Tuchel’s Blues were able to conquer City (and the rest of Europe) with and without the ball.

Without Possession of The Ball – The Gegenpress

First introduced to England by Liverpool F.C. boss, Jurgen Klopp, ‘the Gegenpress’, as it is referred to in Germany, took the English league by storm. At its core, the Gegenpress is a style of counter-pressing whereby the player in possession of the football is closed down by multiple players of the opposing team. Some years after its initial introduction to English football, Tuchel has adapted this style of counter-pressing and he has instilled it in Chelsea’s identity. When the German boss first took the reign as Chelsea boss, at the conclusion of January, he stated: “We will build a team that nobody wants to play against,” (pictured below) when discussing his plans for the team.

Four months and a day to the date, his prophecy took centre-stage in Porto, as Pep Guardiola’s, Manchester City, conjured up just one shot on target in ninety minutes of play. This miraculous feat was achieved by way of the Gegenpress. Chelsea players were relentless in their pursuit of the ball and it completely offset City’s possession-style of football. In the illustration created below (tacticalboard.com), Chelsea (in royal blue) closed down the City player in possession of the ball (in light blue) and committed multiple players to counter-press whatever opposing player was in possession of the ball at the time. This constant pressure applied by Chelsea meant that the passing lanes that City would usually exploit were not available. And on the rare occasions where City were able to get past Chelsea’s relentless counter-press, the Blues defenders threw their bodies on the line as they racked up multiple blocked shots and successful tackles on their way to victory. As testament to Chelsea’s successful Gegenpress, N’Golo Kanté took home Man of the Match honours for his incredible work-rate and constant pursuit of the ball.

With Possession of the Ball – Create Overloads on the Wings

The key to Tuchel’s offensive gameplan was to create overloads on the winged areas of the field. Pictured below (courtesy Whoscored.com), are the sides that Chelsea occupied when in possession of the ball. From this chart it is clear that Tuchel wanted to attack the right side of the field and create overloads in that area.

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Further confirmation of this, can be shown in the picture below (also from Whoscored.com). the picture shows Chelsea players’ average positions occupied on the field for the entirety of the game.

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From this, it can be stated with some certainty that Tuchel wanted to exploit City’s defence of its left-wing. This was done to accomplish two things, 1) It forced City’s players: Raheem Sterling, Aleksander Zinchenko, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne backward, and 2) It made Manchester City defenders; Ruben Dias and Zinchenko advance forward to create spaces behind City’s line of defence.

Though Chelsea’s created the majority of its chances from the right side, the goal actually came from an attack that started down the left side of the field, but the same principle applied. Shown below, Timo Werner’s fantastic run to the left wing, forced City defender, Ruben Dias, to pursue him, which resulted in an open space through the centre for Kai Havertz to run into. Mason Mount found him with a brilliantly weighted through ball, and he rounded City goalkeeper, Ederson to give the Blues the lead.

Synopsis

When examining the underlying statistics for the game, and in particular, the glaring three combined shots on target between the two teams, it can easily be inferred that this was a boring final. However, for those that actually watched the final this was far from the truth. This game had the intensity of a world-class fixture from the kickoff to the final whistle and it was as intense a game as you were likely to see this season.

Billed as a tactical battle between two of the best coaches in Europe, it turned out to be an impeccable showing by both groups of players. Every player that stepped on the field left their hearts on their sleeves, and it was one moment of magic that went Chelsea’s way that proved to be the difference in the final.

‘Tournament Tuchel’ as he’s been come to known was victorious on the night, but this is just the beginning of his journey as Chelsea boss. In the coming months the German head coach will have to prove that he can conjure up a plan that takes Chelsea back to Premier League glory (while competing on multiple fronts) and he knows Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich will be breathing down his neck the entire time. On the other side of the dugout, Pep deserves immense credit for City’s transformation this season, however, the cracks in his upcoming title-defence are starting to show and this certainly won’t be the last he will hear of his admirer, Tuchel.

This final may go down in history as the ‘Pep disaster class’, but Tuchel set his team up to conquer both areas of the field and he deserves immense credit for his inspired victory. The sky is the limit for Chelsea once Tuchel gets the backing of Abramovich and that is a scary prospect for the rest of the footballing world. Tuchel will forever be a legend amongst the Chelsea supporters, but his time to conquer the footballing world begins now.