Chelsea’s sacking of Frank Lampard could win them the Champions League

Chelsea canned coach Frank Lampard on Monday following a string of poor results. A new coach could mean a shot at winning the Champions League.

Chelsea sacked manager Frank Lampard on Monday and are set to announce the appointment of Thomas Tuchel as his replacement.

“This was a very difficult decision for the club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and I have the utmost respect for him,” Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich said in a statement posted on the club’s website. “He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics.”

Tuchel, who was recently sacked from Paris Saint-Germain, helped the French champions reach their first-ever Champions League final last season. PSG lost the final to Bayern Munich. The German now takes that experience over to London, where Chelsea hope to salvage their domestic season after sliding to ninth place after a 2-0 defeat to Leicester City on Jan. 19.

Sources told ESPN that Tuchel was hoping to wait until the end of the season to decide his next move, but was convinced to take over at Chelsea following talks with the club.

Chelsea are also in the Champions League round of 16, meaning the club still has a realistic shot at the trophy now that the league seems lost with the team having lost five of their last eight Premier League matches.

What’s the upside for Chelsea in changing managers?

Changing a manager in the middle of a season is often risky. Nonetheless, that’s not always the case. The coaching change is reminiscent of the 2011-12 season. That was the season Chelsea hired Roberto Di Matteo as an assistant to Andre Villas-Boas, who has been named manager in June 2011.

In March 2012, following the firing of Villas-Boas, Di Matteo was named interim coach until the end of the season. The former Chelsea midfielder guided the side to an improbable Champions League run, which culminated in winning the title against Bayern. The team also won the FA Cup that season.

Chelsea are scheduled to play Atletico Madrid on the road on February 23. Chelsea hosts the second leg on March 17 at Stamford Bridge.

Tuchel’s recent PSG run with Chelsea is also a very good omen. He likes to play a 4-3-3 and a 4-2-2-2, a tactic that helped the French club reach last year’s final. How that works in the Premier League remains to be seen.

Tuchel spent two years at the helm of Borussia Dortmund before being sacked. His arrival at Chelsea will reunite him with Christian Pulisic. It could mean more playing time for the American given that Tuchel made Pulisic a starter during his time there.

“I’m just very thankful for everything [Tuchel] did for me,” Pulisic said in a 2017 interview with Bundesliga.com. “Tuchel always just trusted me and gave me a chance. Of course he’s given me tips and feedback with what he sees every day in training and stuff like that, small things.”

That trust could result in a Chelsea run that ends with lifting the Champions League. If history is any guide, that could very well happen come spring.