Chelsea sack Frank Lampard with Thomas Tuchel expected to take over

Chelsea have sacked head coach Frank Lampard after a run of five defeats from eight Premier League games.

Owner Roman Abramovich described the decision as "very difficult" and conceded it was a move not taken lightly by the club, with the PA news agency understanding Thomas Tuchel is set to replace the 42-year-old.

Lampard guided the Blues into the fifth round of the FA Cup on Sunday with a 3-1 win over Luton, but has paid the price for a poor run in the league after £220million was spent on new additions in the summer transfer window.

Abramovich said: "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.

"He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics. However, under current circumstances we believe it is best to change managers."

Tuchel only became available a month ago when he left Paris St Germain, less than five months after taking them to the Champions League final, which they lost to Bayern Munich.

The 47-year-old won back-to-back league titles with PSG, but that was not enough to satisfy the club's ambitious owners who replaced him with Mauricio Pochettino.

Prior to PSG, Tuchel impressed at Borussia Dortmund, having started his managerial career with Augsburg and then Mainz.

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