Thomas Tuchel took charge of his first game as Chelsea manager on Wednesday evening as his new side were held to a 0-0 draw by Wolves at Stamford Bridge.

The former PSG man was only appointed as Frank Lampard’s successor on Tuesday and had just one training session with his new squad prior to his debut in the Stamford Bridge dugout.

But what kind of impression did Tuchel’s Chelsea make?

The Thomas Tuchel era at Chelsea begins. ?#CHEWOL pic.twitter.com/MrC2JPiRHG

— 90min (@90min_Football) January 27, 2021

One word: possession.

Tuchel’s Chelsea loved possession. If the German had been brought in to up the Blues‘ possession stats then it would be a job well done already.

Chelsea had 79% of the ball – including a staggering 94% possession in the final five minutes of the first half. They attempted 887 passes – nearly four times as many as Wolves. They were very, very good at keeping possession. Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho were deployed in the two deep lying midfield roles and they kept Chelsea ticking over nicely with their calmness, composure and ruthless efficiency on the ball.

But possession was really all they had. Chelsea were like a nervous teenage boyfriend meeting his girlfriend’s parents for the first time and attempting to make a good first impression by just saying ‚please‘ and ‚thank you‘ all evening. Polite, simple, safe but ultimately really boring.

For all their possession, Chelsea hardly threatened and had just half chances to show for their efforts. Ben Chilwell blazed wide and over either side of half time, while Callum Hudson-Odoi brought a stretching save out of Rui Patricio.

In the end, it was Wolves who had the game’s best opportunity, Pedro Neto clipping the bar with a scooped effort when clean through on goal.

Hudson-Odoi was Chelsea’s brightest player, one of the few men in blue who asked questions of the Wolves backline or attempted to get in behind. The England international operated at right wing back as Chelsea lined up with a back three, matching the formation of Wolves – the same shape Nuno Espirito Santo’s side had lined up in against Chorley in the FA Cup over the weekend.

Whether this is Tuchel’s formation of choice for Chelsea going forward, or whether he was going like for like with Wednesday evening’s opponents remains to be seen.

For Hudson-Odoi and Chilwell, the emphasis was very much on ‚wing‘ as opposed to ‚back‘, as they spent much of the game pinning the Wolves wingbacks back in their own half. Similarly to under Lampard, it was the fullbacks who carried much of Chelsea’s threat.

As a result, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech operated as inside forwards as opposed to hugging the touchline. However, neither player were ever really able to get at the Wolves backline or have a telling impact on the game as the visitors turned in a resolute, disciplined defensive performance.

It’s just 90 minutes of football after one training session with his team. Thus far Tuchel has possession nailed down, while cutting edge in the final third was very much lacking.