Thomas Tuchel’s first game as Chelsea boss ended in a disappointing Stamford Bridge stalemate with Wolves on Wednesday night.
The German’s side enjoyed plenty of possession and passed the ball nicely, but that all-important goal never came despite a flurry of late chances.
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Tuchel admitted he went for experience in the game having only been appointed to the job 48 hours earlier.
Mason Mount, a particular favourite under Frank Lampard, was benched along with Christian Pulisic, Timo Werner and Tammy Abraham.
Jorginho and Olivier Giroud, however, found themselves in the starting line-up; a rare occurence in recent weeks under Lampard.
“It’s maybe the most unfair line-up we have ever done because there is no reason to give to players to not be in the line-up,” Tuchel admitted ahead of kick-off.
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Chelsea saw plenty of the ball in the first half notching up 433 passes in the opening 45 minutes.
This was the most by any team in the Premier League so far this season but, despite all that possession, chances were hard to come by for both teams.
It was also the most passes recorded by any Chelsea team since the start of the 2003/04 season.
Tuchel had vowed to play attacking football but goals eluded his team – a common problem for the previous regime in recent weeks.
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The second half continued in much the same way as the first.
Chelsea dictated play, moving the ball nicely around the defence and midfield – but chances in the final third continued to be lacking.
Ben Chilwell lashed a shot just over the crossbar in the 61st minute after finding space in the box and Oliver Giroud turned the ball goalwards a few minutes later but Rui Patricio easily saved.
The Blues were given a let off with 20 minutes to go when Pedro Neto scooped his shot onto the crossbar.
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Neto bundled himself through on goal and opted to chip Edouard Mendy but his effort didn’t quite dip enough to put the visitors ahead.
Mateo Kovacic had perhaps the best chance of the with eight minutes to go when his long range effort was inches away from hitting the top corner.
Callum Hudson-Odoi had an effort saved by Patricio a few minutes later but that goal never came.
In total, Chelsea passed the ball more than 900 times but, for all that possession, the Blues never seriously looked like scoring against Nuno’s rigid defence.
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