Chelsea owner Todd Boehly hopes English football can learn from the model of American sports, suggesting a relegation tournament and an all-star game.

Since taking charge of the Blues after completing a takeover in May, ending Roman Abramovich's long association with the club, Boehly has not shied away from making a quick impact.

A significant spending spree was financed in the transfer window, with big-name additions as well as recruits for the future, while manager Thomas Tuchel was swiftly axed following a disappointing start to the season.

Boehly's long-term vision is not just limited to Chelsea, however, as he hopes that English football as a whole can grow, learning from the American sports model.

Unlike the NBA, MLB and NFL, relegation is a huge part of football and, while Boehly is supportive, he believes the Premier League is missing a trick by not having a play-off tournament at the end of the season.

"It obviously prohibits tanking because, of course, the economics of going into the first league is materially different," he told the SALT Conference when asked about relegation.

"I think the Premier League distributes its media money, and every club gets north of £200m or so from the media contract.

"When you go into the next league down in the Championship, those numbers fall off a cliff, right?

"So, there's no one who's thinking about tanking and those relegation games are some of the highest broadcast games.

"Ultimately, I hope that the Premier League takes a little bit of a lesson from American sports and really starts to figure out why wouldn't we do a tournament with the bottom four teams?

"Why isn't there an all-star game? The MLB did their all-star game in LA this year, we made 200 million dollars from Monday and Tuesday.

"You could do a North versus South, all-star game for Premier League and fund whatever the pyramid needed very easily."

Football infamously looked to take a leaf from the American model with the push for a European Super League, which included Chelsea as a founder club, before a fan backlash led to the concept being scrapped.

Boehly did not completely rule out the prospect of a similar idea in the future, though he remains committed to the Champions League structure.

"I think the Champions League has a big component of that [a European Super League] already," he added.

"You have the best clubs throughout Europe playing in the best competition.

"We believe very much that the Champions League has a lot of that and there's a reason that if you win the Champions League you make over 100 million euros."

Pressed that a Super League would see Chelsea play the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich more frequently, he replied: "I think you can do that in the summer and there are other ways to do that.

"I think that the passion that the fans have for the sport and for the sport as it is, is so strong, that it's hard to envision change.

"I never say hard nos. I like to keep options alive. But, obviously, it's not something that we're talking about at all."

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has explained the reasoning behind the decision to sack Thomas Tuchel, which stemmed from the lack of a "shared vision".

The Blues caused a stir last week with the dismissal of their Champions League winning coach, which followed defeats to Dinamo Zagreb, Southampton and Leeds United.

Tuchel's exit was particularly surprising given the plethora of transfer activity in the transfer window, which saw the likes of Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brought to Stamford Bridge.

Just a week after the close of the window, however, Tuchel was gone and swiftly replaced by Graham Potter, who has impressed in his time with Brighton and Hove Albion.

While the decision to sack Tuchel just a month into the season may be considered to have been rash, Boehly has made it clear it was a decision with the long-term picture in mind.

"When you take over any business, you just have to make sure that you’re aligned with the people who are operating the business," he told the SALT Conference.

"Tuchel is obviously extremely talented and someone who had great success at Chelsea.

"Our vision for the club was finding a manager who really wanted to collaborate with us, a coach who really wanted to collaborate.

"I think there are a lot of walls to break down at Chelsea. Before the first team, for example, in the academy they didn't really share data. They didn't share information about where the top players were coming from.

"So, our goal is to really bring the team together with the academy, with the first team, when we want to acquire and develop; all of that needs to be a well-oiled machine.

"The reality of our decision was that we just weren't sure that Thomas saw it the same way we saw it, and no one's right or wrong. We didn't have a shared vision for the future.

"It wasn't about Zagreb, it was really about a decision for what we wanted Chelsea Football Club to look like and it wasn't a decision as a result of a single win or loss.

"It was a decision made about what we thought was the right vision for the club."

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has detailed his plan to install a "multi-club" model with Chelsea, highlighting the success that Red Bull and Manchester City have had with the formula.

The Blues boss financed a significant spending spree in the transfer window after taking over from Roman Abramovich, then making a big call last week to axe Thomas Tuchel and bring in Graham Potter from Brighton and Hove Albion.

Boehly's rebuild is not done yet, though, with reports indicating the club are looking to bring in Luis Campos as their sporting director, which would see the highly-rated transfer guru snatched from his advisor role with French champions Paris Saint-Germain. 

In the long-term, more clubs could join the Chelsea family as Boehly has made it clear he wants to establish a network of clubs and will seek to follow the model of Red Bull and Premier League rivals City.

"We know people, we know human capital. I think we understand game plans and strategies. We're not expecting to be the football experts, to find the best talent, we're going to put those people in place," he told the SALT Conference in New York.

"It's not different from running any human capital business, it's all about getting the right resources, making them collaborate, getting them organised, thinking about how you have a global business at a local level.

"We're going to be continually adding resources. We've talked about having a multi-club model. I would love to continue to build out the footprint. There are different countries where there are advantages to having a club.

"Red Bull does a really good job. They've got Leipzig and they've got Salzburg, both of which are playing in the Champions League, so they've figured out how to make that work. You have Man City, which has a very big network of clubs."

Boehly is keen to use such a network to develop the young players in the squad, having shown a commitment to the future amongst the club's vast spending spree to bring in Carney Chukwuemeka, Gabriel Slonina and Cesare Casadei.

"The challenge that Chelsea have now, one of them, is when you have 18, 19-year-old superstars, you can loan them out to other clubs but you put their development into someone else's hands," he explained.

"Our goal is to make sure we can show pathways for our young superstars to get onto the Chelsea pitch, while getting them real game time. For me, the way to do that is with another club in a really competitive league in Europe."

Manchester City player Benjamin Mendy has been found not guilty of one count of rape on the direction of the judge in his ongoing trial at Chester Crown Court.

Mendy, 28, was cleared of the rape of a 19-year-old woman at his home in Cheshire on July 24 last year.

Mendy's co-accused Louis Saha Matturie, 41, was cleared of two counts of rape and one of sexual assault against the same woman.

Judge Stephen Everett ordered the jury to clear the two defendants of those counts after the prosecution offered no further evidence.

Mendy and Matturie remain on trial for a number of other alleged sexual offences, which they both deny.

Mendy was suspended by City on August 26, 2021 and has not played for them since.

Graham Potter admitted the chance to manage Chelsea was too good to turn down.

Potter left Brighton and Hove Albion to take over as head coach at Stamford Bridge last week after Thomas Tuchel had been sacked by the London club.

Speaking at his first press conference as Chelsea boss ahead of the Champions League group stage clash against Salzburg, Potter said he was grateful for the trust the club's new owners put in him and is looking forward to getting started.

"You have to look at the football club here, the tradition, the quality, the size, the ambition of the club, to compete in the Champions League, to compete at the top of the Premier League," he said when asked why he left Brighton for this opportunity.

"It's a completely different challenge to the ones I've had.

"I'm very thankful for the ownership here, putting their trust in me and believing in me, to work with an exciting group of players, to be competitive, and to put a team on the pitch that supporters are really proud of.

"I'm very excited, as you can imagine, and looking forward to getting going."

The 47-year-old, who has also managed Swedish side Ostersund and Swansea City, admitted it has been a quick transition from one job to another, speaking just nine days after his former Brighton team had impressed with a 5-2 thrashing of Leicester City.

"It feels like nine weeks, or nine months!" he exclaimed.

"The beauty of football is you never know what's round the corner. Things happen quickly.

"It's been a whirlwind in terms of getting to know people, leaving Brighton, learning about the players, getting to know them, but so far it's been really positive, my first impressions have been really good. I'm looking forward to starting."

Potter is widely admired in the game for his style of football. Since the start of last season, only Liverpool (11.4) and Manchester City (9.9) have averaged more high turnovers per game than Brighton (9.8) in the Premier League.

He insisted he wants a team at Chelsea that plays his desired way, but also plays to win.

"The team that I'd like to see is one that is balanced in terms of attack and defence, a humble team, a respectful team that runs hard and fights," he added. 

"We want to entertain, of course we do, but we also want to win. I'm respectful of the Premier League, I'm respectful of our opponents, there's a lot of teams that want to do the same thing.

"We want to create our own team, our own identity so it's recognisable, and supporters understand what we're trying to do, can see what we're trying to do, and we'll fight every day for it."

Xabi Alonso has described Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp as "special", and praised the "treasure" created by the German coach on Merseyside.

Liverpool have made a slow start to the 2022-23 campaign, winning just two of their six Premier League games so far (D3, L1) before suffering a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Napoli in their opening Champions League group stage game last week in Italy.

The former Borussia Dortmund head coach has presided over a period of success at Anfield since arriving in 2015, though, winning the Champions League, Premier League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, EFL Cup and FA Cup.

Alonso – who played for the Reds from 2004 to 2009 – said he always felt Klopp would be a success at Liverpool, stating in an interview with the club's website: "I loved my games against his Dortmund when I was in [Real] Madrid and Bayern [Munich]. You could see that he was special.

"I remember when he signed for Liverpool, straight away I had the feeling that he was the man. We were playing Liverpool-Mainz at Mainz [pre-season friendly in 2006] and in the programme he mentioned that his favourite stadium was Anfield. That was on my mind.

"When he signed for Liverpool, I [thought], 'He's always had that in his mind and he's the right man for the job.' After that, what he's done, it's a treasure what we have in Liverpool, what Jurgen built and the inspiration for the players, for the club, for the fans, for everyone."

After spells with Real Madrid and Bayern, Alonso retired from playing and moved into coaching, starting with a role with Madrid's youth setup, before becoming head coach of the B team at another former club, Real Sociedad.

He stepped down from the role at the end of last season, and is preparing himself for the "next thing".

"I want to visit, to keep learning and to keep being updated about the things that are being done," he said. 

"Use the time, not just to sit on the chair and do nothing. No, no, I want to use this time for myself to prepare better for the next thing. I don't know but I will have to choose what's best for me.

"[Coaching is] demanding but very rewarding as well. It's another role but my role was to help young players at Sociedad's academy. They did really well, we [were] promoted to the second division in Spain – it was a great achievement.

"I have enjoyed it. You play games in another way. It takes longer, the preparation, but you feel really into the game. 

"As Johan Cruyff said, the best thing about football is playing football, and the second one is coaching football."

The former Spain midfielder also spoke about compatriot and former Bayern team-mate Thiago Alcantara, who joined Liverpool in 2020.

Thiago could make only his second start of the season on Tuesday when Liverpool face Ajax in the Champions League, having recovered from a hamstring injury sustained in the opening day draw at Fulham last month.

"You could see that he's a different player," Alonso said. "He's a different talent because he's competitive but at the same time he has those magic Brazilian actions that are not that European.

"He's competitive but he can do different things. He was a great player at Bayern and he continues being consistent and being a great player at Liverpool.

"We talked a lot [in 2020, prior to his move] because he was thinking about the option.

"I said, 'Thiago, you love football, you're in a great club, you're in Bayern and you've achieved great things, but Liverpool is pure football and you're going to enjoy it as much as you have done. If you feel it's the right moment for a new chapter, you won't get better places than Liverpool'."

Cristiano Ronaldo's future at Manchester United was a major source of speculation during the transfer window.

The 37-year-old Portuguese forward reportedly wanted to leave United in order to fulfil his desire to play Champions League football and challenge for trophies in the top leagues.

However, Ronaldo was unable to secure a move, with the likes of Napoli, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid publicly distancing themselves from him following links, which may have led to another option being considered down the line.

TOP STORY – RONALDO TO RE-VISIT SAUDI OFFER IN JANUARY

Cristiano Ronaldo is reconsidering a lucrative offer from an unnamed Saudi Arabian club and could move in January, according to The Mirror.

Ronaldo had a stunning £211million Saudi offer during the transfer window but declined the move as he remained focused on playing in Europe.

But he will re-visit that in January after failing to secure a move, as he comes to the realisation his desire to play Champions League football and win trophies in top leagues may be fading.

Ronaldo has also struggled for game time this season at United under new boss Erik ten Hag, starting just one out of six Premier League games so far.

ROUND-UP

– L'Equipe claims that Kylian Mbappe's Paris Saint-Germain contract expires in 2024 and not 2025, as that final year is at the sole discretion of the player. Mbappe was close to joining Real Madrid last term before signing a lucrative extension with PSG.

– Inter are eager to work on a contract extension for defender Milan Skriniar who is out of contract at the end of this season, reports L'Interista. The Slovakian defender was pursued by PSG during the last transfer window, while Tottenham were also credited with an interest.

– Arsenal will look to loan out 19-year-old Brazilian winger Marquinhos in order to gain first-team experience and game time, reports FourFourTwo. As a result, the Gunners will aim to bring in a short-term replacement in January.

– N'Golo Kante has declined a new two-year deal with Chelsea and is out of contract in 2023, claims The Athletic.

– UOL says  Brighton and Hove Albion are interested in hiring Palmeiras boss Abel Ferreira to replace Graham Potter, who exited for Chelsea last week.

The Premier League will resume on Friday after the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II led to last weekend's fixtures being postponed, although Manchester United's match against Leeds United and Chelsea's clash with Liverpool will not take place.

The league postponed all fixtures at the weekend and on Monday as a mark of respect after the UK's longest-reigning sovereign passed away at the age of 96.

The situation has also had an impact on continental competitions this week, with Rangers' Champions League clash against Napoli being pushed back a day and Arsenal's Europa League contest with PSV postponed.

Earlier on Monday, the English Football League (EFL) confirmed fixtures will resume on Tuesday, while The Football Association encouraged clubs to observe a minute's silence ahead of matches and said no games would take place on the day of the Queen's funeral – set for Monday, September 19.

A Premier League statement read: "Seven of the 10 Premier League fixtures this weekend will be played, with three matches postponed due to events surrounding the Queen's funeral.

"Matches postponed on Sunday, September 18 are Chelsea's match against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, and Manchester United's home match v Leeds United.

"Brighton and Hove Albion's fixture against Crystal Palace, that was due to be played at 15:00 BST on Saturday, September 17, will also remain postponed.

"Following extensive consultation with clubs, police, local Safety Advisory Groups and other relevant authorities, there was no other option but to postpone the three fixtures.

"The Premier League would like to thank the UK Football Policing Unit and other police forces across the country, as well as our broadcast partners, for their support during this process, and will continue to liaise with them ahead of the weekend.

"For the matches being played during the period of national mourning, tributes will be paid to the Queen at Premier League stadiums. 

"New dates for the postponed matches will be announced in due course."

Brighton's match against Palace was originally called off due to concerns over transport strikes, while the fixtures scheduled to take place at United and Chelsea have been postponed due to policing concerns.

Friday will see two Premier League fixtures take place as Aston Villa host Southampton and Fulham head to Nottingham Forest.

Newcastle United have signed Loris Karius to a short-term contract after back-up goalkeeper Karl Darlow sustained an injury in training.

Eddie Howe's side were in a strong position in their goalkeeping department in the final days of the transfer window.

Nick Pope, signed from Burnley, had an immediate impact in the Newcastle starting XI, displacing Martin Dubravka to leave Darlow as third-choice.

However, Dubravka headed to Manchester United on loan, and Darlow was then injured after the window closed.

Newcastle have instead been forced to turn to the free agent market, with Karius released by Liverpool at the end of last season.

The former Germany youth international had not appeared for Liverpool since the 2017-18 Champions League final, in which he suffered a concussion and committed two awful errors that allowed Real Madrid to win 3-1.

Karius was subsequently replaced by Alisson, spending the next two seasons on loan at Besiktas and the following campaign with Union Berlin.

He joins Newcastle after a year back at Liverpool, where he was no longer considered part of Jurgen Klopp's first-team plans.

"I'm excited," Karius said upon signing a deal until January, which could be extended to the end of the season.

"It's a good opportunity for me and a great project to be part of. It didn't take me long to make a decision.

"Newcastle have a great coach and play really attractive football. I felt it was the right project for me and I'm excited to work with the coaches and my new team-mates."

English Football League matches will resume on Tuesday and the FA has announced fixtures will go ahead this weekend – though fans are still awaiting an outcome on the Premier League.

Football across the United Kingdom was postponed at the weekend as a mark of respect following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday at the age of 96.

The situation is still impacting the football schedule, with Rangers' Champions League clash against Napoli moved from Tuesday to Wednesday and Arsenal's Europa League clash against PSV postponed.

EFL matches will go ahead throughout the week and over the course of next weekend, including fixtures being played at clubs in and around London in the days before the state funeral on Monday September 19.

Queens Park Rangers and Watford have both confirmed their matches against Stoke City and Sunderland will go ahead, while Millwall and Luton Town are also scheduled to be at home on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the FA has confirmed that fixtures in their competitions will go ahead, including those in the Women's Super League, the National League and in the FA Cup qualifying rounds.

The FA encouraged clubs to conduct a minute's silence ahead of kick-off and black armbands should be worn, while confirming no games would be played on the day of the funeral.

Football in Scotland's professional leagues is also scheduled to return this week.

But final decisions on the Premier League matches in England are yet to be announced. Those matches require more policing, with forces set to be stretched amid ongoing events during a period of national mourning.

Fixtures in London are widely considered to be most at risk, with Tottenham hosting Leicester City on Saturday, while Sunday is scheduled to see Chelsea clash with Liverpool and Arsenal travel to Brentford.

Wolves have signed Diego Costa on a free transfer after losing fellow striker Sasa Kalajdzic to an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Kalajdzic, a £15.4million (€18m) arrival from Stuttgart in the recent transfer window, was substituted at half-time on his Premier League debut, a 1-0 win over Southampton at Molineux.

With the Austrian expected to miss the majority of the campaign, Wolves have turned to former Chelsea and Atletico Madrid striker Costa, whose contract will run until the end of the season.

Chairman Jeff Shi said: "We are absolutely delighted to welcome Diego Costa to Wolves, and back to the Premier League.

"A serial winner with a wealth of experience at the highest level, Diego will bring something unique to our dressing room and on the pitch, and we look forward to his impact at Molineux and Compton this season."

Costa, who has scored 10 goals in 24 senior appearances for Spain, won two Premier League titles during a successful three-year stint with Chelsea between 2014 and 2017.

Costa scored 52 goals in 89 Premier League appearances for Chelsea – during his three seasons as a Blues regular, only Harry Kane (75), Sergio Aguero (70), Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez (both 53) hit the net more often in the competition.  

Having been frozen out by then-Chelsea boss Antonio Conte in 2017, Costa returned to Atletico Madrid, for whom he had scored 64 goals in 135 appearances before moving to England.

The fiery 33-year-old then helped Atletico Mineiro to the Brazilian title in 2021. He departed as a free agent in January, paving the way for his arrival at Molineux, which remains subject to international clearance.

Cristiano Ronaldo would be welcomed to the Saudi Pro League with open arms if he were to leave Manchester United, according to the president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation Yasser Almisehal.

Ronaldo reportedly asked to leave United after they missed out on Champions League qualification last season, but was unable to secure an Old Trafford exit before the transfer window closed.

A host of potential suitors including Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Napoli all publicly ruled out signing the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, who has endured a frustrating start to the new campaign.

Since Erik ten Hag took charge at United, Ronaldo has started just one of the Red Devils' six Premier League games, while fellow forwards Marcus Rashford (523), Jadon Sancho (423) and Anthony Elanga (215) have all bettered his 207 minutes of league action.

Amid a lack of takers in Europe, Ronaldo was also linked with Saudi Arabian outfit Al Hilal, and Almisehal hopes a deal to take him to the country can still be struck.

"We would love to see a player like Cristiano Ronaldo playing in the Saudi league," he told The Athletic.

"It would bring a huge positive feedback and it would be big news for everyone. I'm sure everyone knows the achievements and records of Cristiano Ronaldo, but also as a player who is a great role model.

"Why not? I'm sure it would be a very expensive deal, of course, but we can see our clubs getting higher revenues in the past couple of years. 

"We have already seen some big players who used to play in the Premier League come to the Saudi league. I like Cristiano Ronaldo as a player and I would like to see him play in Saudi Arabia."

Asked whether bringing the legendary 37-year-old to Saudi Arabia was a realistic proposition, Almisehal added: "To be honest, I don't have the answer. 

"If I was the president of a club, I could give you the answer. But my colleagues at the clubs don't have to share their negotiations with me.

"It wouldn't be an easy transaction for a Saudi club or even for him, but we would love to see him or even some other top players of the same level."

After making a terrific start to the season, Arsenal are reportedly looking to bolster their squad further in the January transfer window as they weigh up a move for Barcelona winger Ferran Torres.

Torres, 22, was acquired by the Spanish giants this January after emerging at Manchester City as one of Spain's top young talents, costing €55million.

With his playing time inconsistent, and the numerous questions about Barcelona's finances and their need to sell players, it appears Torres is someone the club feels comfortable parting ways with less than 12 months after his arrival.

TOP STORY – ARSENAL WANT TO BRING TORRES BACK TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE

Torres has failed to establish himself as a regular starter, and with plenty of forward depth after the expensive additions of Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha – along with Ousmane Dembele and Ansu Fati already being on the books – Barcelona are said to be looking to recoup their spending.

Fichajes is reporting Barcelona will be setting their asking price at the full amount they paid City, but for a young player who already has 13 international goals in 28 caps for Spain, it is not an unreasonable figure.

Meanwhile, 90min claims Barcelona are still looking to cash in on Frenkie de Jong after a lengthy transfer saga with Manchester United ended with no deal, indicating they may need to sell at least one player to keep balancing their books.

ROUND-UP

– Calciomercato are reporting Chelsea remain interested in United's Marcus Rashford, along with Atletico Madrid, if he does not receive a contract extension.

– According to The Sun, Wolves and Liverpool will both attempt to sign Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez, just months after he arrived from River Plate on a bargain €8million deal.

– Bayern Munich 's sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has denied enquiring with Tottenham about the availability of Harry Kane, per Sport1.

– Corriere dello Sport is reporting Rafael Leao's contract demands with Milan have boosted his chances of leaving the club, with Chelsea named as the primary interested party. 

– Newcastle United's hunt for a goalkeeper did not end with their signing of free agent Loris Karius, with Portuguese publication JN reporting they are considering activating the £51m release clause for 22-year-old Porto goalie Diogo Costa.

Thomas Tuchel was left "devastated" by his Chelsea dismissal, as he thanked the club's players and fans for their support in a heartfelt social media post on Sunday.

Chelsea sacked Tuchel in the aftermath of a 1-0 Champions League defeat at Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday, announcing Brighton and Hove Albion's Graham Potter as his successor the following day.

Tuchel led Chelsea to Champions League glory just four months after his January 2021 appointment. He then added the Super Cup and Club World Cup trophies last season, as well as overseeing penalty shoot-out defeats to Liverpool in both of the EFL and FA Cup last season

Despite outspending every other Premier League club in the recent transfer window, however, Chelsea took just 10 points from their opening six games of the new Premier League season, prompting the club's new owners – led by Todd Boehly – to make a change.

Tuchel has now expressed his regret at lasting less than two years in the Stamford Bridge dugout, writing on Twitter: "This is one of the most difficult statements I have ever had to write - and it is one which I hoped I would not need to do for many years. 

"I am devastated that my time at Chelsea has come to an end.

"This is a club where I felt at home, both professionally and personally. Thank you so much to all the staff, the players and the supporters for making me feel very welcome from the start.

"The pride and joy I felt at helping the team to win the Champions League and the Club World Cup will stay with me forever. 

"I am honoured to have been a part of this club's history and the memories of the last 19 months will always have a special place in my heart."

Tuchel oversaw 100 games as Chelsea boss in all competitions, winning 60. In the Premier League, meanwhile, only Antonio Conte (68.8) Jose Mourinho (66) and Carlo Ancelotti (63.2) have bettered Tuchel's win rate of 55.6 per cent when leading the Blues for a minimum of 50 matches.

In 589 days in charge of Chelsea, Tuchel led the club to four major finals (2x FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League) – no coach has taken charge of the Blues in more finals, with Mourinho also leading them to four.

Chelsea also kept 49 clean sheets in Tuchel's 100 matches at the helm, the highest tally among Premier League clubs during that time (in all competitions).

For all his early successes, however, Tuchel oversaw a noticeable decline in the second half of his tenure.

In all competitions, Tuchel's first 50 games yielded 32 victories, 11 draws and seven defeats, with just 24 goals conceded. In the subsequent 50, Chelsea managed fewer wins (28) and over double the amount of goals conceded (53).

Christian Eriksen is confident Manchester United are on a "good road" and praised the qualities of his fellow Red Devils midfielders. 

Although United lost to Real Sociedad in the Europa League last time out, their Premier League fortunes have seen a vast improvement since Erik ten Hag lost his first two games in charge last month.

A 3-1 home win over Arsenal last Sunday made it four successive league victories for United – their best winning run since April 2021.

Eriksen created a team-high three chances and recorded 33 successful passes (also a team-high) against the Gunners, as well as teeing up Marcus Rashford's second goal.

Only Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes (both 10) have created more Premier League chances than Eriksen for United this campaign (eight). Meanwhile, Fernandes (539) is the only Red Devils midfielder to rack up more Premier League minutes than Eriksen's 532 under Ten Hag.

Speaking to the club's website, Eriksen said United's midfielders were adapting well to the new boss's methods. 

"Everyone has different qualities and it's up to the manager who he's going to put down to play in which games and see what qualities will work," Eriksen said.

"Take Casemiro coming in and showing how strong he is already, being a winner. And Fred and Donny [van de Beek] have played for many years – it's a decent midfield.

"Scott [McTominay] has done very well and I think you can see that from the games. I think in the first few games, we were looking for each other a bit and seeing where we are. 

"But now I think we are starting to get a good connection and a good feeling of where you should be, and also because of the instructions of the manager, as he has the positions he would like us to be in. 

"I think it's gone well, but also when you win games it's just easier to look back and the confidence builds up and you forget the small mistakes you make and remember the good things. 

"There are a lot of things we can improve, but it's a good road we're on."

Last season's 6th-placed Premier League finish means United are competing in the Europa League this campaign, but Eriksen believes the strength of their squad – and the allowance of five substitutions – leaves them well-equipped to cope.

"[The whole squad] is going to be very important," he added. "I think this is a good year to have five substitutions.

"It will help the pressure on a lot of the players, and also I think it will give the manager a few more options. 

"The guys who have come on have done very well – they want to prove themselves. And also the guys that have been starting want to prove themselves. 

"So it's a good and strong push that I think we need, because we have a lot of games and there is a lot of quality in the team. We all have to fight for our places."

Following the Premier League's decision to postpone its weekend fixture programme after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, United are back in action on Thursday, travelling to Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League.