It’s the 29th of May 2021 and Chelsea have just been crowned champions of Europe after Kai Havertz rounded Manchester City keeper Ederson and stroked the ball into an empty net.
This season though has been a stark contrast to the heights of last year with the Blues not living up to their early season potential.
The campaign started in style by claiming the UEFA Super Cup, seeing off Villareal 6-5 on penalties at Windsor Park. It would continue and after 10 games they were top of the Premier League taking 25 points out of a possible 30 and only conceding three along the way.
For Blues fans it seemed that this team was living up to the pre-season hype that had been built around them.
However, it was short-lived, and we started to see a drop off, with points being consistently lost at home and defensive errors creeping into the previously rigid back line. It left Chelsea in third after 19 games and trailing league leaders Manchester City by six points.
Inconsistent form has continued into the back end of this season and fans are now concerned at what next year will look like with key players leaving, injuries, ownership issues and the drop off in form of previously prominent players.
Ben Chilwell Ben Chilwell was a huge part of Chelsea’s Champions League success last year and started this season in scintillating form. Three goals and one assist in his first six Premier League games was the sort of contribution that Tuchel wanted to see from his wing backs, but unfortunately for Chilwell, his season was cut short.
4-0 up and cruising against the prestigious Old Lady, Chilwell went in for a challenge against French midfielder Adrien Rabiot and landed awkwardly. It later turned out that he had damaged his anterior cruciate ligament and had to undergo surgery that would rule him out for the rest of the campaign.
One of Chelsea’s best elements is the dynamism of Chilwell and compatriot Reece James, both pose opponents serious questions and the continued form of James throughout the season would have been emulated by Chilwell had he been available.
Marcos Alonso has played there since and although his performances have not been under par, he just doesn’t offer the same threat or defensive stability. One on one defensively Alonso tends to struggle as players can utilise pace against him. Raheem Sterling was a prime example of this, causing the Spanish left back serious problems in January, beating him numerous times which saw him booked after just seven minutes.
The return of Chilwell next year will be one of great relief as he looks to reproduce the form that made him a vital cog in Tuchel’s system.
End of an Era As war raged on in Ukraine, in the United Kingdom the Government had acted. Seven Russian oligarchs had been hit with sanctions that would freeze their assets and help to in the continued effort to isolate Vladimir Putin. One of these oligarchs: Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovich, who earlier in that week had announced he was going to sell the club in fear of these restrictions.
The Government would allow Chelsea to continue their day to day running but stopped the selling of merchandise, transfers and would limit sales of tickets to fans to just away games and cup fixtures.
The club now had an uncertain future with players concerned about their expiring contracts and whether the squad would be able to develop with transfers blocked in and out of the club.
In an interview earlier in the week Tuchel said: “It surely affects the team but to which degree I cannot tell you”.
Tuchel also admitted: “We try to minimise the influence, I think it's important to accept it and not use it as an excuse, so if there's a certain degree of distraction, a certain degree of uncertainty, okay we accept it but there is still another 100 per cent to reach and this is still our level”
Since news broke about Abramovich selling the club, Chelsea’s form has been poor with just 14 points taken from the 27 available in the Premier League. Along with this Carlo Ancelotti’s Los Blancos saw Chelsea off 5-4 on aggregate in the Champions League to end their defence of the lucrative title.
A Step Forward
Luckily for the Blues a buyer has been found, Todd Boehly’s consortium have had a bid of £4.25 billion accepted and once the Government and Premier League have approved the deal Chelsea Football Club can function at full capacity again.
The new owners have stated that they will commit £1.75 billion into investments on Stamford Bridge, the academy, the Women’s team and Kingsmeadow.
Fans will hope that Boehly will invest into the current squad over the summer for them to keep pace with Liverpool and Manchester City who are strengthening year on year.
The Cutting Edge 273 goals in 560 games is the record of a top striker, but Romelu Lukaku has not had the fairy-tale season that he would have envisaged when he signed for Chelsea for £97.5 million last summer.
Just 14 goals in 41 games for the Belgium international, who has struggled to adapt to the high pressing system of Chelsea, admitting to coaches that it was easier for him under Antonio Conte at Inter Milan where he was asked to do it in spurts.
Unfortunately for Blues fans it is not just him who has struggled this season. Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz have been inconsistent throughout the season and have not hit the numbers that they would desire either. Between them they have managed just 61 goal contributions in 157 games. In comparison Liverpool’s forwards of Mohammed Salah, Diogo Jota, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz have managed 110 in 169 games, that of a title winning side.
What Lays Ahead
After such a bright start to the season, Chelsea fans would have been hopeful but if the past six months have taught us anything, it is that consistency is the up most important thing if you want to win a Premier League, something that Tuchel’s men have not yet mastered.
The return of Chilwell and the hope that these young attackers could yet turn their mediocre numbers into exceptional contributions will keep Blues fans believing that this squad can challenge at the top.
With an FA Cup final against Liverpool this weekend Chelsea have the chance to still pick up a trophy and make a poor season seem an adequate one.
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