On this day in 2021: Thomas Tuchel appointed new Chelsea manager

Thomas Tuchel was appointed as the new Chelsea boss on this day in 2021.

The German replaced Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge, becoming the 15th manager of owner Roman Abramovich’s tenure.

Former Chelsea and England midfielder Lampard was sacked with the Blues ninth in the Premier League after five defeats in their last eight league matches.

Tuchel signed an initial 18-month contract at Chelsea and the club’s decision to make the change would soon be vindicated.

Chelsea would go unbeaten until April as Tuchel led them to a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League, as well as to the FA Cup final and the Champions League final.

Defeat to Leicester at Wembley was remedied as Kai Havertz scored the only goal of the Champions League final to seal victory over Manchester City in Porto.

After the season, Tuchel signed a further two-year extension to his contract, tying him to the club until June 2024.

This season has not gone quite as smoothly for Tuchel’s Blues following a blistering start to the campaign.

Recent stuttering results have seen Chelsea fall 10 points behind leaders City in the Premier League and a high profile fall-out with star summer signing Romelu Lukaku has not helped Tuchel’s cause.

However, Chelsea are in the Carabao Cup final, through to the fourth round of the FA Cup and face Lille for a place in the Champions League quarter-finals.