Chelsea have given Thomas Tuchel something that Borussia Dortmund and PSG could not

Thomas Tuchel hadn't spotted the banner unfurled in the Shed End prior to Chelsea's Premier League clash against Leicester City – he was instead focused on the one passing across the Matthew Harding Lower that honoured Mason Mount. Thankfully the German's assistant, Arno Michels, was on hand.

It was he who alerted the Chelsea head coach to the banner on which his image was displayed. Tuchel's reaction was priceless. He went from being surprised to genuinely touched in an instant. A huge smile broke out across the face of the 48-year-old, who then embraced Michels before his attention turned to the match.

"I was very happy – I never had a banner before," Tuchel said on Thursday evening after his side had played out a 1-1 draw against the Foxes. "I was looking at the banner for Mason until somebody told me there was another banner on the other side [for me]. So very nice and thank you very much and I will do my best to earn it."

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The majority of Chelsea supporters would agree that Tuchel deserved this moment of recognition. Not only because he has claimed three trophies – one of which was the Champions League – in less than 18 months at Stamford Bridge, but because of how he has conducted himself during one of the most difficult periods in the club's recent history.

From Russia's horrific invasion of Ukraine to Roman Abramovich's decision to sell the club after 19 years, it was Tuchel who had to face the most difficult of questions from the media, something that should never have been the case. Yet on every occasion, whether it be in front of the television cameras or with the written media, he was able to strike the right