“I didn’t see it coming. Obviously I was in the wrong movie.”
Those were the words of Thomas Tuchel as he digested Chelsea’s latest let down away from home, this time a 1-0 defeat at Champions League minnows Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday evening.
But they could just as easily have been the first words the head coach offered the next morning, when he was informed by Chelsea’s new owners that he was being sacked just 16 months after leading the club to only their second Champions League title.
<div class="sdc-site-video sdc-article-widget callfn" data-account-id="6057984924001" data-amp-iframe-embed="" data-asset-id="e6bd39be-63ac-4991-a149-5b06d6f0d1cf" data-asset-path="" data-asset-version="" data-autoplay="" data-auth-config=" Brighton boss Potter set for talks
‘Not a knee-jerk reaction’ – Why Chelsea sacked Tuchel plus reaction LIVE
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Thomas Tuchel said he was angry at himself for a ‘huge underperformance’ during Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Tuesday – his final game in charge
Only three weeks ago, Tuchel had revealed he was in talks over extending his contract, enthusing: “You know how glad I am to be here and how much I like it.”
But look a little closer and the cracks at Stamford Bridge had begun to show long before the disastrous result in Zagreb, with a leaky defence, unhappy forwards, unwanted departures and tactical tinkering resulting in Todd Boehly and his consortium marking 100 days in charge by executing their most controversial decision to date.