Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta stunners secure Thomas Tuchel's first win as Chelsea manager

 

The Thomas Tuchel era is only two games old and yet it has already provided the kind of surprises that suggest conventional wisdom may need to be abandoned at Stamford Bridge while the German is in charge.

It would have been tough to predict a bigger surprise, for instance, than captain César Azpilicueta being the man to score Chelsea’s first goal under Tuchel that set them on their way to a first victory under their new head coach.

And yet that was trumped with seven minutes remaining, when Marcos Alonso, making his first Chelsea appearance since Sept 26, sealed the points with a brilliant volley.

Azpilicueta’s goal was his first for over a year and it was set up by Callum Hudson-Odoi, who had never played as a wing-back in his life before Tuchel arrived but, after two games, looks made for the role.

Hudson-Odoi also hit a post with a deflected shot in the second half and twice provided good chances for Timo Werner, whose weak finishes ensured his Premier League goal drought continues.

There was not much for Hudson-Odoi to have to worry about in terms of defending against Burnley, but let’s remember it was the 20-year-old who had made a goal-saving challenge against Wolverhampton Wanderers in Tuchel’s first game.

Not many observers would have identified bringing 31-year-old Azpilicueta back into a back three and changing Hudson-Odoi’s position as a potential solution to Chelsea’s problems and yet this was a big part of the attraction of Tuchel, who is famed for thinking outside the box.

“If we manage to find a starting 11 to guarantee we win 20 games in a row, we won’t change,” said Tuchel with a smile. “But it’s very unlikely this will happen. 

“I decided very late on the back three and two sixes [Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic]. I made changes offensively to bring in different types of players and give everybody a chance to show up. It’s a super hard selection because of the players we have, or maybe at the same time it should be easy because I give everybody the chance to show up.”

Asked why he has switched Hudon-Odoi to wing-back, Tuchel replied: “Why not? We already knew him. There were big rumours about him joining Bayern Munich, but we knew about him before because we are interested in up and coming players. He was in focus.”

At the end of a first half in which Tammy Abraham had struggled, the obvious move would have been for Tuchel to send on Olivier Giroud to compete with Burnley’s giant centre-back pairing of James Tarkowski and Ben Mee.

But Christian Pulisic was introduced instead and it was often hard to decipher exactly who Chelsea’s central striker was during the second period, with the United States international and Werner at times both operating as false nines.

The move worked, as Pulisic added extra spark and energy to Chelsea’s attacking and provided the late chipped cross that allowed Alonso to control the ball on his chest, tee himself up with his knee and then volley the ball past Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope.

Alonso, a player Frank Lampard had wanted to sell last summer and again this month, celebrated by clutching the Chelsea badge on his shirt. 

In truth, it had not been a vintage performance from Alonso back in his favoured left wing-back position, but he and Tuchel will not care too much given his late impact and the shot of confidence it should provide. Full report here