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CHELSEA trained with small soccer balls while Thomas Tuchel presented his strange training methods to the struggling Blues team.
The German replaced Frank Lampard as boss at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
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He did his first training session that afternoon before overseeing the 0-0 draw against the Wolves the next day.
And on Friday he had started experimenting with some more unusual exercises at Cobham’s training ground.
The players were photographed kicking and chasing the mini Nike balls during preparations to face Burnley on Sunday.
The idea behind the smaller balls is to try to improve control and precision.
And when Blues players turned to regular size 5s, coaches introduced small goals to make finishing difficult.
But the goalkeepers didn’t get a free ride either, as Petr Cech was photographed ramming Edouard Mendy and Kepa Arrizabalaga with a rugby shield as they leapt into the air to claim catches.
Once again, there is method in the madness with goalkeepers improving their physique and dealing with obstacles, especially from set pieces in congested penalty areas.
And with Burnley heading to Stamford Bridge, Tuchel wants his players to be up for the challenge.
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It is not the first time that the German manager has experimented with outlandish ideas on training ground.
At Borussia Dortmund, he would get his team to play on fields without width or depth.
He often forced players to take extra showers with their knees or had defenders carry tennis balls to prevent them from grabbing other players’ jerseys.
And perhaps the craziest of all was when he wanted more centralized attacks and thus cutting the corners of the training ground to turn the final third into a triangle.
However, the methods, designed to facilitate match scenarios than training sessions, have not always worked well.
A Mainz source told The Athletic: “Tuchel had been so demanding on the players that many couldn’t take it anymore.
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“He was very ruthless and held personal grudges.”
Mainz substitute goalkeeper Heinz Muller called the new Chelsea manager “a dictator.”
He has faced the hierarchies in Mainz, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.
But perhaps the most revealing dispute came with Emre Mor in Dortmund.
As punishment, Tuchel ordered his fitness coach to make the Turkish striker crawl across the pitch on his hands and knees as punishment for not working hard enough.
When the young man complained, Tuchel barked, “Shut your mouth! Shut your mouth! Shut your mouth!”
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