Master Tuchel’s Champions League-winning Chelsea tactics in FM24 and take your team to the top with this tactical guide.
Discover how Thomas Tuchel turned Chelsea into European champions and learn
how to apply his winning tactics in Football Manager 2024.
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Premium: Extra Benefits On the 26th of January 2021, Thomas Tuchel was appointed by Chelsea, taking the reins from club legend Frank Lampard, who had the club languishing in mid-table and playing poor football. Few would’ve predicted that Thomas Tuchel, who’d been sacked by his former employers only a month before, would take a dejected Chelsea side to the summit of European football in under six months – whilst playing some of the most controlled, dominant football around. But, how did he do it? Let’s take a look at the changes he made, and how I replicated them, and his tactic, in Football Manager!
Formation Change: A Back-Five Masterclass
Under Frank Lampard, Chelsea used a 4-2-3-1 system that looked to exploit the flanks by tucking the wingers inside and allowing the full-backs to bomb up and down the flank to create overloads in the wide regions. This, however, left Chelsea with a 2-2 rest defence and left them constantly susceptible to wide counter-attacks. When Tuchel arrived, he immediately switched to a back-five. Chelsea clearly, in Reece James and Ben Chilwell, had two of the best and most exciting wing-backs in the world. Therefore, Tuchel implemented a back-three behind them, leaving Chelsea with a 3-2 rest defence. The trade-off from switching to the back-five was the lack of attacking players higher up, so like Lampard, Tuchel gave the wing-backs complete freedom to hold the width and move higher. In FM, I used two Wing-Backs on the Attacking mentality to replicate this.
Compact Defensive Shape: Narrow and Organized
Another feature Tuchel implemented was a very narrow and compact 5-2-2-1 shape off the ball. Within this shape, he would instruct the Chelsea team to force the opposition into wide areas, where they could close off passing options forward and force the opposition back. Crucial to this was the narrow front-three, that would typically operate in a horseshoe-like curved line to funnel play wide. The double-pivot behind them would then step up onto their respective midfielders ahead of them to man-mark and apply secondary pressure, whilst the back-five behind them would push higher to compact the midfield. Finally, the two wider centre-backs in the back-three would usually push up against the player in the half-space, not allowing the player to turn and create/get a shot off. To replicate these things, I used the ‘Trap Outside’ and ‘Step Up More’ team instructions and I also applied the ‘Stopper’ mentality on the D (CL) to encourage him to push up and stop the balls into midfield, along with the player instructions ‘Mark Tighter’ and ‘Tackle Harder’.
Structured Build-Up and Use of Positional Play
Under Lampard, as aforementioned, Chelsea took more risks with their shape in-possession, leaving a 2-2 rest defence and massive gaps open in the channels for opponents to try and exploit. Tuchel came in and immediately changed this, opting for a more structured and secure 3-2 rest defence. This change proved crucial, as Chelsea only conceded 13 goals in the Premier League for the rest of the 20/21 season. This stat is even more impressive when you factor in that 5 of those 13 goals came in a freak 2-5 loss against West Brom. This also helped them to control more games, as they had an average of 62% possession per game in the 19 games left of the 20/21 season. Tuchel created his 3-2-5 shape with the back-three and the two defensive midfielders forming the 3-2 base and rest defence, whilst the two wing-backs would join the two attacking midfielders and striker to form the attacking 5. As the team grew in confidence and gathered momentum, the wing-backs were given licence to rotate with their respective attacking midfielders alongside them, however, this was more prominent on the right. To encourage this on FM, I applied the ‘Stay Wider’ player instruction on the AM (CR).
Breaking Down the Tactic in FM24
Team Instructions & Mentality
‘Shorter Passing’ will allow us to control the possession and the intensity of the game, giving our team more time to create the 3-2-5 structure. The team instructions ‘Play Out of Defence’ and ‘Work Ball into Box’ will also help with this. ‘Slightly Higher Tempo’ seems counter-intuitive; however, we are using it to encourage more vertical play – something that Tuchel desired from this Chelsea team. This rings true, also, with the ‘Pass into Space’ team instruction being applied.
In transition, Tuchel wanted his team to win the ball back immediately after they lost it, therefore, I applied the ‘Counter-Press’ team instruction. When his team won the ball back, Tuchel would want his Chelsea team to attempt a counter-attack. However, if there wasn’t a viable option, he’d want the team to retain possession and control the tempo. For this reason, I applied the ‘Counter’ team instruction. Finally, Tuchel would want his teams to play out from the back, and this all started with the ‘keeper, who would look to give the ball to his defence to begin building up. As a result, I applied the ‘Distribute to Centre-Backs' team instruction to encourage this.
Out of possession, Tuchel wanted Chelsea to be tough to break down and this all started from the front, where the front-three would press the opposition defenders and goalkeeper, ultimately trying to force the ball into wide regions. To replicate this, I applied the ‘High Press’, ‘Prevent Short GK Distribution’ and ‘Trap Outside’ instructions, along with the ‘Trigger Press’ option being set to ‘Much More Often’. As previously mentioned, Tuchel wanted his team to be very compact, and would instruct his whole team to step up when the ball was passed backwards. He also wanted his team to play with a high line, where balls in-behind would be swept up by Mendy in goal. To replicate this, I selected the ‘Much Higher Defensive Line’ and ‘Step Up More’ team instructions.
The team mentality was set to ‘Attacking’ in order to encourage more vertical football, and to intensify the team’s press.
Player Instructions: Roles that Matter
Sweeper Keeper – Attack:
Tuchel would instruct Mendy to sweep up any balls in behind the team’s high line, and the ‘Sweeper Keeper’ on the ‘Attack’ duty will encourage that – no additional Player Instructions.
Wide Centre-Back – Support:
Tuchel primarily utilized Cesar Azpilicueta as a right-sided centre-back, and would allow Azpilicueta to move slightly ahead of the other centre-backs to help in the final third, on the right side. ‘Wide Centre-Back' on the ‘Support’ duty will allow this – no addition Player Instructions.
Central Defender – Defend:
The central centre-back in this system was the most defensively disciplined, focusing on his positioning and picking up the opposition striker. He would rarely step into midfield out of possession. ‘Central Defender’ on the ‘Defend’ duty will recreate this – no additional Player Instructions.
Ball-Playing Defender – Stopper:
The left centre-back, who was usually Antonio Rudiger, was the main ball-player out of the back three. He was given more licence to take more risks on the ball, and would look to carry the ball up the pitch and use his passing ability to good effect. In Antonio Rudiger’s case, he’d also look to take a long-shot or two; Of course, Rudiger scored a famous screamer versus Brentford in this fashion. Out of possession, as aforementioned, the left centre-back would look to step up and mark the opposition player in the half-space. ‘Ball-Playing Defender’ on the ‘Stopper’ duty will encapsulate this role Player Instructions as seen below:
(WB L) Wing-Back – Attack:
On the left side, the wing-back was more focused on being a lateral threat in possession, using off-the-ball runs to provide a major goal threat. This was especially seen in the 21/22 season, where Chilwell and Alonso accumulated a combined 15 goal contributions. The ‘Wing-Back’ role on the ‘Attack’ duty will encourage this lateral movement into the penalty area – Player Instructions as seen below:
(WB R) Wing-Back – Attack:
On the right side, Reece James would be instructed to whips crosses into the box, usually into the centre. He would also be encouraged to utilise his excellent ball-striking ability. This was especially prominent in the 21/22 season, where Reece James conjured up 16 goal contributions! To recreate this, I applied the ‘Shoot More Often’ and ‘Cross Aim Centre’ player instructions – those were the only Player Instructions applied, as seen below:
Deep-Lying Playmaker – Support:
In the months after Tuchel’s arrival, Jorginho was a player reborn. Operating in a deeper and more controlling role, Jorginho impressed so much that he finished an astonishing 3rd in the Ballon d’Or - a position no-one could’ve envisioned him finishing in 12 months prior. In this role, Jorginho was encouraged to take the ball under pressure and reliably distribute it to team-mates, along with dictating the tempo of the game – the ‘Deep-Lying Playmaker’ role on the ‘Support’ duty will allow for this. Player Instructions as seen below:
Ball-Winning Midfielder – Support:
Jorginho’s partner in the midfield would alternate between Kovačić and Kante, however, in the Champions League, Tuchel would opt for Kanté. He would instruct Kanté to use his endless energy to good use, pressing high to win the ball and use his pace to dribble past the opposing midfield to progress play. In possession, Kanté would drop beside Jorginho to form the double-pivot. To replicate this, I applied the ‘Dribble More’ and ‘Hold Position’ Player Instructions – the only player instructions applied, as seen below:
(AM CR) Attacking Midfielder – Support:
On the right side, the attacking midfielder, who would typically be Mount, would tend to swap positions with the right wing-back, whilst maintaining the 3-2-5 structure. In this position, Mount would look to utilise his good playmaking abilities to provide through balls into the striker/midfielders making late runs in behind. Finally, Mount would sometimes look to drop into the midfield, to form an asymmetrical 3-man midfield with Jorginho and Kanté/Kovačić. To replicate these traits, I selected the ‘Roam From Position’, ‘Take More Risks’, ‘Stay Wider’ and ‘Get Further Forward’ Player Instructions – as seen below:
(AM CL) Attacking Midfielder – Support:
The attacking midfielder role on the left side was slightly different, as he would be used, as I’d describe it, as the team’s tactical Swiss Army Knife. The wolf in sheep’s clothing. This was because Havertz, who was the prominent figure in this role, would remain in the half-space to attract the opposing full-back, however wouldn’t receive the ball that much. When he did receive the ball, he would draw opponents towards him by dribbling the ball in tight spaces, before playing the ball in-behind to the left wing-back or striker. would draw opponents towards him by dribbling the ball in tight spaces, before playing the ball in-behind to the left wing-back or striker. Simply put, he was the placeholder from which the left wing-back and striker and striker used to thrive beyond him. Saying that, Havertz would sometimes make disguised runs in-behind – from which he scored the winning goal in the Champions League Final. To replicate this, I selected the ‘Get Further Forward’, ‘Roam from Position’, ‘Dribble More’, ‘Take More Risks’ and ‘Move Into Channels’ - the only ‘Take More Risks’ and ‘Move Into Channels’ - the only Player Instructions applied, as seen below:
Advanced Forward – Attack:
Finally, Thomas Tuchel used Werner as the striker, looking to utilise his lightning speed to make runs in-behind and run the channels. Werner was Chelsea’s main threat in-behind, and ended Tuchel’s only full season with 11 goals and 6 assists. In possession, Werner would sometimes roam out wide to isolate a centre-back in a 1v1. For this reason, I applied the ‘Roam from Position’ Player Instruction – the only Player Instruction selected, as seen below:
Results of the Tactical Recreation in FM24
In the Premier League, we ended up winning the league with 93 points, accumulating 29 wins, 6 draws and 3 losses. We scored the 3rd most amount of goals (79) and conceded the 3rd least amount of goals (30).
We also won the UEFA Europa Conference League, beating Real Betis 0-2 in a final we completely dominated. On the way to the final, we beat Lille 0-6 on aggregate and Fenerbahçe 4-2 on aggregate.
Conclusion: Bringing Tuchel’s Tactics to FM24
In 2021, Thomas Tuchel arrived at Chelsea and historically won them the Champions League in under six months. He turned a promising side into Europe’s best, and he’ll always be remembered by Chelsea fans for that contribution. In Football Manager 2024, we have recreated the exact system Tuchel used to achieve this.
