Kai Havertz's late winner helped Chelsea conclude a worrying week with a dramatic 1-0 home victory against Newcastle United.
The German, who was almost sent off for an elbow on Newcastle defender Dan Burn, ghosted beyond the defence to slot home the winning goal.
Eddie Howe’s side came closest to opening the scoring in the first half, as Dan Burn flicked a Matt Target set piece just beyond the far post.
Soon after, Burn found himself in the centre of the drama once more, after he was caught in the face by a very high and loose Kai Havertz elbow.
Despite brief scrutinisation from VAR, the German was allowed to remain on the pitch to the frustration of Newcastle players.
And the Magpies were left frustrated by referee David Coote once more after he, and VAR, refused to award the away side a penalty after Trevoh Chalobah brought down Jacob Murphy in the penalty area.
Tuchel looked to influence proceedings by introducing Romelu Lukaku and Christian Pulisic from the substitutes' bench.
But it was Havertz who found the winning goal in the dying stages of the contest. Here, Mirror Football considers five talking points from Chelsea's late victory...
1. Stamford Bridge atmosphere
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Sanctions imposed on Roman Abramovich meant fans were not able to buy club merchandise, scarves, or match-day programmes at Stamford Bridge.
Images of the locked Chelsea megastore and graffiti citing messages such as “leave our club alone’ contributed to an eery and uncomfortable atmosphere.
And the apprehension overflowed into the stadium where the only real noise came from Newcastle fans, who chanted ‘Mike Ashley is coming for you’ at the Chelsea season ticket holders.
While the overall attendance was not as bad as many were perhaps anticipating, the uncomfortable backdrop and atmosphere of the contest was very hard to ignore.
It also appeared to influence the Chelsea players, as their attacking play did not contain their usual zip, speed, and urgency.
There was an improvement in the Blues’ performance in the second half, but the atmosphere remained flat and uncomfortable.
2. Chelsea reversion to a back four
Tuchel’s first major move as Chelsea manager was to overhaul their shape and reinstate them to a 3-4-3 formation in his first match against Wolves in January 2020.
Ever since, the club have won the Champions League, the Club World Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup.
But with Ben Chilwell consigned to the side-lines until the end of the season and Reece James ruled out by injury yet again, the Blues’ have often struggled to penetrate the wider areas without the wing-back duo.
And Tuchel’s decision to deploy a four-man defence played to the strengths of Malang Sarr and Trevoh Chalobah who do not possess the same attacking attributes as James and Chilwell.
Chalobah occasionally forayed forward but that was only to allow Ziyech further space to cut inside onto his favoured left-foot.
3. A glimpse of Sarriball
While many point to his third placed finish, the highest Chelsea have achieved since they last won the title in 2017, and his Europa League triumph, many fans found his so-called ‘Sarriball’ playing style rather mind-numbing.
And one of the most divisive points of the former Juventus ’ manager’s reign was his insistence off deploying N’Golo Kante as a more advanced midfielder. Interestingly, Tuchel took a page out of the Sarriball playbook and deployed Kante on the right side of the Blues’ midfield.
While many believe Kante is best patrolling the danger areas in front of the defence, he was afforded the freedom to try and win the ball high up the pitch.
Kante is normally partnered alongside Jorginho or Mateo Kovacic in front of the defence, but Tuchel’s decision to move him further forward was an interesting talking point in the contest.
4. Havertz’s possible red card
A relatively quiet first half almost exploded after Kai Havertz caught Dan Burn in the face with his elbow.
The German’s arms were extremely high when he made full contact with the former Brighton and Hove Albion defender.
An already subdued Stamford Bridge became silent when VAR began to examine Havertz’s elbow to see if a red card offence had been committed.
However, referee David Coote was not advised to consult the pitch-side monitor, and his initial decision of a yellow card to the Chelsea ace remained.
5. Mount’s deeper position
Chelsea’s reversion to a 4-3-3 resulted in a rare position change for Mason Mount. The English midfielder is normally positioned just behind Kai Havertz or Romelu Lukaku as a much more advanced and creative midfielder.
However, the Chelsea academy ace was deployed as a supposed ‘Number 8’ midfielder, which saw him receive the ball in a much deeper position than usual.
Mount cemented himself a place on the left-hand side of the midfield three after some very impressive performances during Frank Lampard’s final season in charge of the Blues.
And it was an inspired move from Tuchel, as the 23-year-old regularly threatened the Newcastle defence, finding space in between the midfield and defensive lines and linking up with Timo Werner, Havertz, and Hakim Ziyech.
