Thomas Tuchel sacking might solve a problem for Jurgen…

Thomas Tuchel sacking might solve a problem for Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool

It’s unlikely the Premier League has ever seen a greater frequency of managerial churn than that which has occurred in the last few years. Aside from Jurgen Klopp – the fourth longest serving gaffer in the English league – and Pep Guardiola, who have been in place for many years, there are only six other men who’ve held their post for longer than 15 months.

The latest victim of this endless thirst for change is Thomas Tuchel. Despite winning the Champions League a little over a year ago and backing him in the transfer market with a £223million net spend this summer, Chelsea have decided to dispense with his services.

There had certainly been a downturn in performance in the last few months. Tuchel’s initial success at the club was founded upon a very tight defence. But where the Blues conceded just 24 goals in his first 50 games in charge, they allowed 53 in his second half century of matches ( per OptaJoe ).

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Jurgen Klopp will not enjoy that his successor at both Mainz and Dortmund has been sacked. He will likely question the decision, as he did when Scott Parker lost his job at Bournemouth recently. One thing is clear, though, and that is Tuchel’s removal may make Liverpool’s job easier when they travel to Stamford Bridge next weekend.

At face value, Klopp’s record against the now former Chelsea manager looks strong, with 11 wins and only three defeats from their 19 clashes ( per Transfermarkt ). However, the first 10 of those were matches between Dortmund and Mainz, and so by managing the former Klopp was very likely to get good results. Their head-to-head record has been far more even since.

One of the first statement wins of Klopp’s time with Liverpool occurred against Tuchel’s Dortmund, with Dejan Lovren’s unforgettable goal sealing a 5-4 aggregate win in the 2015/16 Europa League. When the managers next met it was when the Reds faced Paris Saint-Germain in the group stage of the 2018/19 Champions League. They shared a home win apiece.

But while with Chelsea, Tuchel arguably had the edge as his team remained unbeaten in 90 minutes across five matches with Liverpool. The point is arguable in that the Reds won both the League Cup and FA Cup finals last season, they just needed penalties to do so.

A year earlier, in only his eighth league game in charge, Tuchel brought his Chelsea side to Anfield to face a Liverpool squad engulfed by a horrendous injury crisis. The visitors won 1-0, and it could easily have been worse. It seems scarcely credible that the Reds could go into a big match with a centre-back pairing of Fabinho and Ozan Kabak, but they were very strange times indeed.

Last season the Reds and Blues shared a pair of Premier League draws, 1-1 on Merseyside and 2-2 in west London. Liverpool did at least manage to lead for 37 minutes in the latter match, which is more than can be said for either cup final in 2022/23, both of which ended goalless.

But that relatively brief window of advantage at Stamford Bridge is the only time Klopp’s Reds led in 510 minutes played against Tuchel’s Chelsea. They were not behind for too long either, in fairness, but the two German managers clearly knew how to negate the strengths of each other’s teams, keeping decent chances to a premium.

Of course, the Blues may appoint their next manager in short order and their first home game in the league could be against Liverpool. The natives will be in boisterous mood and the Chelsea players may be galvanised by having a new man in charge.

Or perhaps it won’t make any difference whatsoever to the misfiring Blues. The Reds were the opposition for Claudio Ranieri’s first match at Watford last season, and still won 5-0. While that won’t be the score line for Liverpool next Sunday, it’s hard not to feel their chances of success in a very testing fixture at Chelsea may have just improved.

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