Thomas Tuchel brought instant tactical balance last season but now the team look vulnerable and the squad appears fragile
![Lukaku issue looms large but Chelsea are really suffering for loss of control | Jonathan Wilson](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ac051764bf972dae6769007ac9921a78c37655ba/0_84_5262_3157/master/5262.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=ea3a44f0245d99ee3291fd4cb2bbc693)
Thomas Tuchel used to be about control. When he arrived at
Chelsea a year ago, that was what he brought: suddenly a team that had been desperately vulnerable on the break stopped conceding on the counter. They held the ball and a 3-4-2-1 formation gave them a naturally solid structure with two midfielders stationed in front of the defensive line. They won the
Champions League because they demonstrated how it was possible to play pressing
Football without leaving yourself open in transition.
That had always been Manchester City’s issue, less in the
Premier League (although Leicester have often troubled them, as they did last week even in conceding six) than against top European sides. They were a remorseless attacking force, as imposing as the Death Star, but they also had that fatal exhaust port that meant they could be destroyed. To an extent that is intrinsic to the philosophy: push high and there will be space behind the defensive line; the question was how to guard against balls played into that space without losing the aggression of the press.