Chelsea 0-0 Wolves: Tuchel's first game in charge ends in goalless draw

Chelsea got the Thomas Tuchel era underway with a forgettable goalless draw as they were held by Wolves at Stamford Bridge.

With their new German coach on the sidelines, the hosts had all the ball, but they did not do enough with it to claim more than a point that is not particularly helpful to their hopes of a top-four finish.

Chelsea started proceedings like a team enjoying the familiar uplift a new managerial appointment tends to bring, dominating from the off.

Their 466 attempted passes was the most from any Premier League side in a single half this season, while the 433 they completed marked a first-half record for the Blues since such data was first collected in 2003.

But turning that possession into chances of note was proving difficult for Tuchel's men, who managed just two shots, neither of which troubled Rui Patricio particularly.

For their part, Wolves had not managed to force Edouard Mendy into action even once, and their struggles continued into a second half that was similar in complexion to the first in terms of Chelsea's control of the ball.

Unfortunately for the hosts, when they did finally create a good opening on the hour mark, it fell to arguably the wrong man, with Ben Chilwell skying a pullback when he should have done better.

Wolves were having similar trouble with their rare chances, too, with Pedro Neto chipping the ball onto the bar after somewhat fortuitously stumbling through the Chelsea defence with 20 minutes remaining.

As time ticked down, the Blues' push for an opener - aided by substitutes Tammy Abraham, Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount became more desperate.

But Wolves held out despite Mateo Kovacic whistling a long-distance effort inches past the post and Callum Hudson-Odoi calling Rui Patricio into action with a deflected attempt from just inside the box.

And they could even have won it on the break at the death had Leander Dendoncker not miscontrolled a brilliant crossfield pass that had put him one-on-one with Mendy.