Roman Abramovich once made brutal Champions League-driven sacking, it was one of his best ever decisions as Chelsea owner

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During his time as Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich was often criticised for his lack of patience with managers.

Abramovich was never afraid to dismiss the man in the dugout, getting rid of some of the best coaches in the world, including Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti.

Ancelotti could have signed David Silva during his time at Chelsea. Having a player of his quality on board could have made the Blues more successful and perhaps saved the Italian’s job.

Finishing in second in his final season at Stamford Bridge, it was perhaps a bit premature to axe Ancelotti. However, there was one dismissal that Abramovich definitely got right.

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Roman Abramovich sacked Chelsea legend Frank Lampard to save club’s season

A lot of Chelsea fans did not want to see Frank Lampard go when he was sacked as Chelsea manager back in 2021.

Lampard is thriving at Coventry City right now, but he struggled during his final days as Blues boss.

As a result, the Chelsea legend was sacked by Abramovich, with the team ninth in the Premier League table and drifting further away from the Champions League spots.

Lampard did well to get Chelsea into the competition that year, guiding them to qualification the previous season despite having to contend with a transfer ban. That, his status as an icon at the Bridge and the great work he had done with the Chelsea youngsters were the reasons why some supporters did not want to see him depart.

But Abramovich was not going to let Lampard basically undo all of the good that he had done as Chelsea boss and decided to cut him loose.

Thomas Tuchel came in, and the decision to axe Lampard and replace him with the German quickly proved to be one of the best Abramovich ever made at Chelsea.

Tuchel now watches Chelsea players as the manager of England, able to turn to the likes of Reece James, Levi Colwill and Noni Madueke, who are all full senior internationals.

What Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali can do to imitate Roman Abramovich’s success

Not only did Chelsea manage to climb back up the table and finish in the top four under Tuchel, but they were also able to win the Champions League.

In effect, Abramovich’s decision to sack Lampard and hire Tuchel saw Chelsea qualify for Europe’s elite competition twice. At one point, it looked like they would not even make it into the Europa League, showing what a masterstroke Abramovich and Marina Granovskaia had pulled off.

The lesson for Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali? If this Enzo Maresca experiment fails, just as their Graham Potter one did, then they have to go out and get a proven manager like Tuchel.

It is a shame, as Boehly and Eghbali started their tenure as owners with Tuchel already in place. They need to learn from their mistakes and Abramovich.