The Sunday Mail
THOMAS TUCHEL admits he was and still is expecting more from Manchester United this season. Perhaps it will come once his former mentor Ralf Rangnick, a man he considers a tactical equal to the best coaches the Premier League has to offer, takes charge at Old Trafford.
United are floundering in eighth, 12 points off leaders Chelsea after just 12 games, despite adding Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo to their squad in the summer. Tuchel, now leading Chelsea, feels his old friend Rangnick will turn United back into a force
“Yeah, I was (expecting more) and maybe I still am,” Tuchel said.
“I will never write anybody off, not in this league and not in this game. Because there is a specific club, first of all, but it is a very experienced and individually top level group of players.” And one on the verge of being led by Rangnick, a godfather-like figure in German football and inspiration for many of the coaches who came after him like Tuchel.
Tuchel played under Rangnick at Ulm.
Rangnick then helped Tuchel on his way in management, handing him his first coaching role in the youth setup at the same club.
Chelsea’s head coach is now considered one of the game’s best and part of a group of elite managers in the Premier League that also includes Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Antonio Conte.
Tuchel insists Rangnick will instantly join them in that top bracket of leading tactical coaches when he arrives.
“Yes, tactically for sure he is an elite manager,” he said.
“He helped me a lot because he was my coach. And then he was one of the main figures to convince me to try coaching.
“So a huge influence on all of us at this time, because he showed us that it’s not necessary to follow people to the toilet in football games, because there was the belief in these days that the defenders follow their strikers wherever they go. He showed us that it’s possible to defend everybody and so on.
“He was one of the very first to implement a back-four in Germany and introduce the style of not man-marking and still being aggressive, and was one of the pioneers to introduce a 4-4-2 and high pressing, and still he is one of the leaders of this development in German football, so tactically, for sure, he is an elite coach.’’
United have mimicked Chelsea, not just by changing manager mid-season in pursuit of an upturn like the Blues experienced last season under Tuchel, but also by going for a German manager in a similar mould.
Tuchel said: “There is no recipe. I cannot give any advice because everybody needs to do it in their own way. For me personally, it was luck to arrive at this place. We are a perfect fit and I do my very best to stay.
“I don’t think these decisions (to change manager) are easily made or anyone loves these kind of decisions.
“Everyone tries to find their own solution — in the circumstances who’s available? Who wants to have the job? Who is capable of doing the job?
“But that is their (United’s) thing to do and we will not help!”
Tuchel’s men host United at Stamford Bridge this afternoon. Chelsea are winless in their last seven Premier League games against Man Utd, only having a longer run without a league win against the Red Devils once before (10 games between 1938 and 1950).
Manchester United have kept a clean sheet in each of their last four Premier League meetings with Chelsea – the only team to record a shutout in more consecutive league games against the Blues is Newcastle United, who did six in a row between 1913 and 1919.
In all competitions, Manchester United have won three of their last four away games against Chelsea (D1), having won just three of their previous 25 visits to Stamford Bridge before this. This is the fifth time Chelsea have hosted Manchester United in a Premier League game when starting the day as the league leaders. The Blues have won three of the previous four (L1), going on to win the title in the season of each of the three victories (2005-06, 2009-10 and 2014-15).
Manchester United are unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League away games in London (W7 D4), winning each of their last three in a row.
They last won four consecutive league visits to the capital between May and November 2005. League leaders Chelsea have conceded just four goals in their 12 Premier League games this season.
Only the Blues themselves (three in 2004-05) have shipped fewer at this stage of an English top-flight campaign.
Manchester United have lost five of their last seven Premier League games (W1 D1), as many as they had in their previous 42 in the competition. They have lost their two league games (vs Man City and Watford), but haven’t lost three in a row since December 2015.
Michael Carrick will be the first Englishman to take charge of Manchester United in a league game since Ron Atkinson in November 1986 (1-1 vs Coventry).
Four of the five managers to take charge of the Red Devils since Alex Ferguson left have won their first league game in charge, with Louis van Gaal the exception (1-2 vs Swansea in August 2014).
Carrick will be the 14th different manager to take charge of his first ever Premier League game against Chelsea. Ten of the previous 13 to do so have lost (W1 D2), with Duncan Ferguson the only one to emerge triumphant (3-1 in December 2019). Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has only scored in one of his 11 Premier League appearances against Manchester United, netting a hat-trick as a substitute for West Brom in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final game in charge of the Red Devils in May 2013.
In all competitions, United’s Ronaldo has scored just one goal in 15 appearances against Chelsea, doing so in the 2008 Champions League final. The Blues are the side he’s faced the most without ever scoring against in top-flight football (10 games). – dailymail.co.uk/supersport.com
