Thomas Tuchel sacked as Chelsea manager just seven games into season

London: Chelsea announced on Wednesday they had sacked manager Thomas Tuchel just seven games into the season. The club said in a statement they had “parted company” with the German just hours after a chastening 1-0 Champions League defeat at Dinamo Zagreb . Tuchel was appointed as Frank Lampard’s successor in January 2021 and guided the London-based club to Champions League glory in May that year. In a poor start to the season, Chelsea are sixth in the Premier League having suffered disappointing defeats at Leeds United and Southampton. As per ESPN, Tuchel and new club co-owner Todd Boehly’s relationship had become strained over the summer. Meanwhile, The Telegraph claimed Tuchel was going to be sacked irrespective of the outcome in Croatia. The announcement came as a surprise considering Chelsea spent £272 million in the summer bringing in the likes of Wesley Fofana from Leicester (£72 million), Marc Cucurella from Brighton (£58 million) and Raheem Sterling from Manchester City (£50 million). The statement read: “On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, the Club would like to place on record its gratitude to Thomas and his staff for all their efforts during their time with the Club. Thomas will rightly have a place in Chelsea’s history after winning the Champions League, the Super Cup and Club World Cup in his time here. As the new ownership group reaches 100 days since taking over the Club, and as it continues its hard work to take the club forward, the new owners believe it is the right time to make this transition. Chelsea’s coaching staff will take charge of the team for training and the preparation of our upcoming matches as the Club moves swiftly to appoint a new head coach.” Tuchel was critical of the team following their defeat in Zagreb on Tuesday. “I don’t really know where this performance today comes from. A lack of determination, a lack of hunger and a lack of intensity to actually do the things that we need at the highest level. We are clearly not where we want to be. “I’m angry about our performance. It’s not precise enough, it’s not clinical enough, it’s not aggressive enough on the ball, it’s not determined enough. It’s not good enough individually, it’s not good enough as a team.” Tuchel revealed he was offered a two-year contract extension on the pitch by Abramovich after beating Manchester City 1-0 in Porto to win the club’s second Champions League title. But things quickly unravelled for Chelsea on and off the pitch last season. Abramovich was hit with UK sanctions after the government described him as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. Tuchel kept the Blues afloat in trying circumstances as Chelsea reached the League and FA Cup finals, losing both on penalties to Liverpool, won the Club World Cup and finished third in the Premier League. But Boehly has followed Abramovich’s playbook in acting quickly to fire managers after a string of disappointing results. Tuchel is the second Premier League manager to be fired this season after Bournemouth sacked Scott Parker last week. (With inputs from AFP) Read all the  Latest News ****,  Trending News ****,  Cricket News ****,  Bollywood News ****,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook****,  Twitter and  Instagram****.