Thomas Tuchel was supported in his role as Chelsea head coach. New co-owner Todd Boehly was considering signing Cristiano Ronaldo until Tuchel reportedly vetoed the deal over concerns about the veteran’s fit into his fluid attack. And then there was the deadline-day arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a 33-year-old striker past his best but with whom Tuchel shares a “close bond.”

That’s what makes the German’s dismissal Wednesday even more perplexing.

Reservations over Tuchel as Chelsea boss started in the summer when Boehly and his business partners observed the fallout from a 4-0 preseason loss to Arsenal in Orlando, according to Tom Roddy of The Times (UK). Tuchel apparently tore into his players, questioning their commitment and professionalism, and he already showed signs of not being overly enthusiastic about working with the club’s new owners. Tuchel had good relationships with departed directors Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech, key figures of the Roman Abramovich regime, and wasn’t embracing the new era.

Yet, Boehly backed Tuchel. Despite appearing to have little soccer knowledge, Boehly installed himself as interim sporting director in Granovskaia’s place and leaned on Tuchel’s advice in the transfer market. What followed was a whistle-stop tour of Europe that culminated in several failed pursuits but, ultimately, a frenzied few weeks of incoming deals.

Chelsea spent well over £260 million, including bonuses tied into some transfers.

The club was forced into big-money transactions. There needed to be a recruitment drive in defense since Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen left the club when their contracts expired. Signing Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana made sense. But was Marc Cucurella really worth up to £63 million when Ben Chilwell was already first-choice left wing-back and Marcos Alonso (who’s now at Barcelona) was a reasonable backup?

Elsewhere, there seemed to be a clash in Chelsea’s transfer policy. The club spent considerable sums on players for tomorrow – Carney Chukwuemeka, Gabriel Slonina, and Cesare Casadei, among them. They also attempted to negotiate moves for players better suited to three years ago, like Aubameyang and Ronaldo.

Boehly has taken risks before. Despite not being a hands-on owner with Major League Baseball’s L.A. Dodgers, Los Angeles Times columnist Dylan Hernandez recalls Boehly being “bold and upfront” about his ambitions for the franchise. The Guggenheim Group’s 2012 takeover increased spending and franchise values in baseball, and Hernandez compared the owners’ impact on the Dodgers as reminiscent of the Real Madrid “Galacticos” years. The Dodgers won the World Series in 2019.

“He’s really good on the business side,” said Bill Shaikin, Hernandez’s colleague at the Los Angeles Times and a Dodgers beat writer. Shaikin noted Boehly’s vital work to greatly boost the franchise’s media revenue and how the owners oversaw overdue renovations to Dodger Stadium.

However, they’re not the elements that directly influence postseason runs. Much of Boehly’s successes have been behind the scenes. “Most Dodgers fans have no idea who he is,” Shaikin added.

But now, he has his own thing at Stamford Bridge. He’s quickly become one of the most recognizable executives in English football.

“You never know the way people are going to react until they get power like that,” Hernandez said. “This might have just been an opportunity for that part of him to come out.”

The way Boehly has quickly presided over Chelsea’s transfer dealings despite lacking soccer experience is concerning. This is a job for an experienced football director, not someone who was involved in the sport for 23 days when he handed himself that role. And the way Boehly relied on Tuchel during the summer window and then sacked him shortly thereafter indicated there was no clear plan in place for the first three months at Chelsea.

Former Brighton & Hove Albion manager Graham Potter will succeed Tuchel at Chelsea. The Englishman made the Seagulls one of the most versatile teams in European football. However, he’s undoubtedly aware he would’ve been afforded fewer opportunities to showcase his tactical acumen and man-management skills without the clear vision, wise division of labor, and holism at Brighton – its oft-successful recruitment included.

Potter is a coach who thrives at a club with a discernible project. But right now, it’s not clear if Chelsea are anything more than a vanity project for Boehly.

Chelsea have moved quickly to replace Thomas Tuchel, appointing former Brighton & Hove Albion boss Graham Potter as their new head coach, the Premier League club announced.

The Blues have signed Potter to a long-term contract that will keep him in west London until 2027. He will be on the touchline for Saturday’s game against Fulham.

“I am incredibly proud and excited to represent Chelsea FC, this fantastic football club,” Potter said.

“I am very excited to partner with Chelsea’s new ownership group and look forward to meeting and working with the exciting group of players and to develop a team and culture that our amazing fans can be proud of.

“I would also like to place my sincere thanks to Brighton & Hove Albion for allowing me this opportunity and in particular Tony Bloom and all the players, staff, and supporters for their continued support during my time at the club.”

With the English manager’s move to Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have apparently agreed to pay the £16-million release clause in Potter’s contract with Brighton.

The two sides struck a deal hours after Tuchel’s dismissal, as co-owner Todd Boehly met with Potter to discuss the proposal Wednesday, according to BBC Sport’s Simon Stone and Alistair Magowan.

“We are thrilled to bring Graham to Chelsea,” Boehly said. “He is a proven coach and an innovator in the Premier League who fits our vision for the club. Not only is he extremely talented on the pitch, he has skills and capabilities that extend beyond the pitch which will make Chelsea a more successful club.”

Chelsea also reportedly held talks with former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino and Sporting Lisbon head coach Ruben Amorim before deciding on Potter.

The struggling Blues sacked Tuchel following their shock loss to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Tuesday. The defeat was the latest blow for a Chelsea side that’s also off to a poor start in the Premier League after winning just three of its opening six games.

Potter, meanwhile, was overseeing an impressive start to the 2022-23 campaign after Brighton opened the season with four wins from six games. The Seagulls sit two places above Chelsea in fourth just months after finishing last season in ninth, their best-ever finish in the top flight.

The 47-year-old boss began his coaching career at Swedish club Ostersunds FK in 2011 and attracted attention after their impressive Europa League campaign in 2017, which included a knockout round win over Arsenal. He moved on to Championship side Swansea City for a season before joining Brighton in 2019.

Potter is known for an attacking and tactically-flexible brand of football that could suit a Chelsea outfit that’s struggled to find the back of the net so far this term.

The sixth-place Blues will look to win their second league game in a row when they visit Fulham on Saturday.

The Champions League is back! Below, we dissect the biggest talking points from Tuesday’s action as this season’s group stage kicked off in Europe’s premier club competition.

The jinxed jersey

Thomas Tuchel hasn’t tried to lessen the weight of Chelsea’s No. 9 shirt. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The head coach has repeatedly branded the digit a “curse” at Stamford Bridge.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Hernan Crespo, and Tammy Abraham are the club’s most successful No. 9s this century, but Crespo and Abraham’s fruitful spells were only brief. Fernando Torres, Radamel Falcao, Alvaro Morata, and Gonzalo Higuain are among the players who’ve disappointed while donning the number, which is traditionally reserved for goalscorers.

“We demand a lot from our strikers in terms of defending. We want to be a physical and hard-working group, one that’s not shy to make it a physical game and not only a skillful game. That maybe plays a part,” Tuchel offered in February of how Chelsea’s traditional playing style could contribute to Romelu Lukaku’s struggles.

But deadline-day arrival Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had no problem with inheriting Lukaku’s shirt. If the 33-year-old is to break the curse, he’ll have to do better than he did in Tuesday’s 1-0 loss at Dinamo Zagreb.

Aubameyang struggled to make a positive impact in his debut, showing none of the conviction that Chelsea so desperately need in the center-forward position. Instead, he strayed offside three times and failed to fire a single shot on target. Armando Broja replaced Aubameyang after 60 largely frustrating minutes.

There are mitigating factors. After sustaining injuries during a violent break-in attempt at his home near Barcelona, Aubameyang will likely need time to regain his confidence. Tuchel was also one of the main reasons the former Gabonese international decided to join the club, and now that he’s gone, Aubameyang will need even more time to adapt to his surroundings. In short, he has a long way to go to become the reference point Chelsea need up front.

New season, same PSG?

Now more than ever, there are no illusions about Paris Saint-Germain’s aspirations. It’s Champions League title or bust.

And, not for the first time, some of the early signs were enormously promising. PSG toyed with Juventus for much of their 2-1 win Tuesday in the French capital. Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, and Lionel Messi seemed to be playing a different sport at times, connecting with intricate tricks and flicks and making a mockery of the Juve backline. Neymar’s scooped pass for Mbappe’s early goal, and the Frenchman’s thunderous volley itself, belong in the Louvre.

Leading 2-0 after just 22 minutes and in complete control, PSG should’ve gone for the jugular. They could’ve blown Juve away and made a huge statement of intent, even if beating this version of the Old Lady isn’t quite the accomplishment of previous years. Still, a marker could have been laid down.

Instead, PSG became complacent after the interval. The smooth, slick, devastating unit from the opening 45 minutes disappeared and let Juventus back into the match. PSG were, and are, comfortably the better team, but after Weston McKennie halved the deficit, doubt started the creep in for the hosts. The defense, untested in the first half, looked nervous and susceptible whenever a cross was whipped into the penalty area.

The scenes were somewhat reminiscent of PSG’s collapse against Real Madrid last season, only this time, Karim Benzema wasn’t there to punish them. A relatively feeble Juventus side worried PSG when it played on the front foot. How will Christophe Galtier’s men handle the pressure against better teams in the knockout stages? The question, yet again, lingers.

Allegri holding Juve back

Passive. Timid. Apathetic.

Juventus fans and pundits alike had their thesauruses out after the opening half of Tuesday’s eventual defeat to PSG, with Massimiliano Allegri’s team completely outclassed and overawed by the pace, skill, and intensity of Mbappe and his teammates. Juve, who have looked turgid in Serie A this season, struggled to string multiple passes together.

The knives were being sharpened for the Italian manager, whose monotonous tactics have come under heavy criticism of late.

Then, suddenly, McKennie’s aforementioned goal in the 53rd minute seemed to flip a switch. Juve pressed forward, Leandro Paredes started to dictate the tempo and spray passes across the pitch, and the Italian side found pockets of space between the lines instead of playing repetitive, low-risk balls out wide and simply recycling possession over and over again.

Ironically, that improvement is part of the issue. Juventus can play more aggressive, attractive football. The talent is there, even without the injured star trio of Federico Chiesa, Paul Pogba, and Angel Di Maria. Allegri can’t wait for all three to return before he takes the handbrake off; the former pair likely won’t be back in full force until January, at the earliest.

The players need to take some responsibility, of course, but Allegri is being paid very handsomely to put his team in a position to win. Being overly conservative, even if it will occasionally deliver results, isn’t the right approach to get the best out of his team.

If things haven’t changed by the time PSG visit Turin in the reverse fixture in early November, the Tuscan manager could be in trouble.

Is Akanji one of the top summer bargains?

You wouldn’t have guessed it was Manuel Akanji’s Manchester City debut. He didn’t need to do much defensive work in his new side’s 4-0 win at Sevilla, but he was unhurried when he had the ball, using both feet as he moved it along to his new teammates. He completed 71 passes, creating two chances along the way.

It all seemed very familiar to Akanji.

Pep Guardiola likes to rotate his lineup, but he prefers to have a set center-back duo for most of his team’s matches. Ruben Dias and John Stones were his last regular pairing, but injuries and the occasional off-color performance from the latter have loosened that partnership’s hold on two spots in the lineup.

Nathan Ake has improved following some unconvincing displays earlier in his City career, but he seems to get injured just when he’s strung together a few starts. Meanwhile, Aymeric Laporte’s increasingly common spells on the sidelines may be the main reason City swooped for Akanji on deadline day; the Spaniard might not be back until mid-October after knee surgery.

So, Akanji could be very busy in his first few weeks in Manchester, and, based on his debut display, that’s no bad thing. He has the intelligence, awareness, and selflessness that should set him up well for Guardiola football, and at around £17 million, he could prove to be the bargain of the summer.

Well, that’s if Erling Haaland – who already has 12 City goals after his double against Sevilla – didn’t cost just £60 million.

Salzburg no pushovers in Group E

AC Milan learned Tuesday night that Red Bull Salzburg are a serious threat in Group E.

Salzburg, after all, are playing in the Champions League group stage for the fourth consecutive season. They routinely develop some of the world’s most promising talent, most notably Haaland, and press as relentlessly as the very best teams in Europe. It should come as no surprise they held Milan to a 1-1 draw – they managed to do the same against Bayern Munich last season.

Given Chelsea’s early struggles, Salzburg can envision a path into the round of 16, especially with Swiss forward Noah Okafor developing into a fine scorer and dribbler and 19-year-old forward Benjamin Sesko showing promise in advance of his move to sister club RB Leipzig.

Salzburg took the game to Milan early in the first half, pressing the Rossoneri and limiting their time on the ball. The hosts had a goal and nine shots by the half-hour mark despite only having 35% possession. It was a devastating display that set the tone for the rest of the game. Salzburg’s defenders double-marked Rafael Leao, knowing they had to cut off an artery of Milan’s attack to stand a chance against the Italian champions. Though the Portuguese winger assisted the equalizer, he could’ve done a lot more damage.

By the end of the night, Salzburg’s players covered an average of 11.09 kilometers, trumping Milan’s 10.8 kilometers per outfielder. Even after starting the game so aggressively, the Austrian side sustained itself throughout the 90 minutes, doing the majority of its work off the ball.