Beneath hat, snood, gloves and padded jacket, very little of Thomas Tuchel was visible but he was still a picture of frustration. He yelled at his captain, Cesar Azpilicueta, punched the air in annoyance and spent some of stoppage time hopping up and down in exasperation. Perhaps Tuchel was more watchable than his team on a day that both started and ended badly for Chelsea.
They had hoped they would not have to take the field at Molineux. When they did, they were sterile in a stalemate. They had requested a postponement from the Premier League after recording seven positive Covid tests. “We were just worried about the safety of our players,” said Tuchel.
“We talk a lot about safety and protecting the players; I am not so sure we did this.” They were denied off the field, and then on it. They have now only won two of their last six league games and find themselves six points behind Manchester City.
There was fog at Molineux, though it scarcely camouflaged much drama. Wolves may deal in binary, scorelines featuring plenty of zeroes and ones. They took that a stage further: this game had one shot on target apiece. Outstanding goalkeepers did not need to stand out.
Jose Sa and Edouard Mendy have the Premier League’s two highest save percentages but neither had much scope to improve his record. The Chelsea goalkeeper had a relatively simple save to make from a golden chance, the unmarked Leander Dendoncker meeting Daniel Podence’s cross with a header that he directed at the Senegalese. The Wolves No1 made a terrific stop when Marcos Alonso released Christian Pulisic, the American outsprinted the home defence and tried to lift his shot over the goalkeeper.
We talk a lot about safety and protecting the players; I am not so sure we did this
Tuchel
Briefly, it did seem there was an early goal: instead Wolves have just two in their last eight games. Given that record, it was understandable they celebrated long and hard when Podence converted Marcal’s deep cross.
Yet the offside Raul Jimenez had swung and missed at it, he was in Mendy’s line of vision and the goal was chalked off. “The VAR should make a more better decision,” said Wolves manager Bruno Lage. But Chelsea kept a first clean sheet in seven games, and could thank the ever-excellent Thiago Silva in part for that.
But fine defending was not confined to them. Conor Coady was perhaps the pick of a defiant bunch for Lage’s side, but they prosper as a unit. Top teams struggle to break them down. They only lost by a single goal to both Liverpool and Manchester City. That Chelsea could not emulate them was another unflattering comparison with title rivals.
Tuchel claimed he was a bit “disappointed and angry” by the decision to play the game. Perhaps Chelsea were distracted. “There was a lot of noise in the last 24 hours,” Tuchel said. “Is his the perfect circumstances to prepare a match? No.” He seemed to make a point by only naming six substitutes, though they did include a four-time Champions League winner, in Mateo Kovacic. But Tuchel said the Croatian and N’Golo Kante only had one training session apiece and Trevoh Chalobah two.
The German got creative with the remaining men. “Some players had to adapt to new positions,” he said. Chelsea may never again field a midfield trio of Chalobah, Hakim Ziyech and Kante. This one didn’t last long: after a quarter of the game, Tuchel changed from 3-5-2 to 4-2-3-1.
At half-time, he removed Chalobah for Saul Niguez; the fact the Spaniard started on the bench in this team indicated how badly his Chelsea career has gone. Chelsea missed the sidelined Romelu Lukaku and Kai Havertz, though finishers would only have been of limited use when they failed to create chances. “We struggled in the first half to adapt to Wolves’ shape but I am pleased with the performance in the second half,” Tuchel said. But he had not looked it on the touchline.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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