Premier League: Chelsea sack Frank Lampard after 18 months in charge; Thomas Tuchel set to replace him

Chelsea sacked Frank Lampard as their head coach and former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Borrusia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel is expected to replace the former Chelsea player as Stamford Bridge's manager.

Lampard, who was associated with Chelsea for 13 long years as a player and remains as the club's all-time goal scorer with 211 goals, replaced Maurizio Sarri as the head coach at Stamford Bridge on a three-year contract. He spent more than £200m last summer on players including Timo Werner and Kai Havertz. His run as Chelsea's boss, however, came to a disappointing end after he failed to produce the desired results in recent times.

The Englishman part ways with the club ninth in the Premier League table after last week's defeat at Leicester City, having suffered five defeats in their last eight league matches. Lampard's final game in charge was Sunday's 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round win against Championship side Luton.

"This has been a very difficult decision, and not one that the owner and the board have taken lightly. We are grateful to Frank for what he has achieved in his time as head coach of the club. However, recent results and performances have not met the club's expectations, leaving the club mid-table without any clear path to sustained improvement.

There can never be a good time to part ways with a club legend such as Frank, but after lengthy deliberation and consideration it was decided a change is needed now to give the club time to improve performances and results this season," Chelsea said in a statement on their website.

The Chelsea owner, Roman 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.

On behalf of everyone at the club, the board and personally, I would like to thank Frank for his work as head coach and wish him every success in the future. He is an important icon of this great club and his status here remains undiminished. He will always be warmly welcomed back at Stamford Bridge."

Meanwhile, Tuchel was sacked by PSG last month after being in charge for two-and-a-half seasons, where he helped the French side to win Ligue 1 twice and led PSG to the 2020 Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich. Before that he managed Borussia Dortmund for two seasons, winning the Germany Cup in 2017, three days before being sacked after falling out with the board.