There was a buzz
around Chelsea football club in the summer of 2012. Winning the champions
league against all odds made many feel that this would be a season in which Chelsea
would really challenge for the title, especially with exciting, young and
creative talents Eden Hazard, Oscar, Victor Moses and Marko Marin as well as
right back Cesar Azpilicueta all joining the team. A comfortable 2-0 win away
to Wigan and two home victories against Reading and Newcastle meant a
successful start for Chelsea, with Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres both looking
exceptionally sharp in the new 4-2-3-1 formation.
After that, things took
a turn for the worse; Radamel Falcao tore Chelsea apart in a 4-1 Atletico win
in the UEFA Super cup in Monaco. A frustrating 0-0 draw away to West London
rivals QPR followed by a home draw to Italian champions Juventus after a late
Fabio Quagliarella strike completed the turnaround for Conte’s team after Chelsea
lead 2-0 thanks to two wonderful strikes from Oscar. However, ugly wins against
Stoke and then Arsenal proved Chelsea’s knack of being able to win without
playing well was still present, while the 4-0 and 4-1 wins against FC
Nordsjaelland in the Champions league and Norwich in the Premier league helped
the Blues’ confidence.
Heading in to the
London derby away to Tottenham, Chelsea were at the top of the table, and in a
crazy game that featured a thunderous volley from Gary Cahill, Tottenham coming
back from 1-0 down to go 2-1 up as well as some excellent link-up play between
Eden Hazard, Oscar and Juan Mata, Chelsea ran out 4-2 winners to strengthen
their position as leaders. Shakhtar Donetsk away was a torrid night for Chelsea,
as Willian and Fernandinho starred in a 2-1 victory for the Ukranian outfit.
Another loss followed on the Sunday after, with a highly charged and
controversial game at home to Manchester United. Goals from Juan Mata and
Ramires had cancelled out two early Robin van Persie strikes (one of which came
off David Luiz) when Branislav Ivanovic grappled Ashley Young down and received
a straight red. Then a supposed Fernando Torres got the Spaniard his second
yellow, although footage showed contact with Jonny Evans and Chelsea couldn’t keep
Javier Hernandez and Manchester United at bay as the game finished 3-2 with United
now hot on Chelsea’s heels at the premier league summit.
Revenge was somewhat
exacted by Chelsea as they beat a youthful Manchester United team 5-4 in the
league cup, but a draw away to Swansea and a disastrous 2-1 loss away to in-form
West Brom meant manager Roberto Di Matteo’s job was being questioned by the
media as Chelsea lost their confidence and Fernando Torres looked more
frustrated than ever. Torres was dropped for the all-important game in Turin
against Juventus, where despite Oscar, Hazard and Mata looking bright early on,
Juve’s power and energy proved too much with Sebastian Giovinco’s late goal
being the icing on the cake for the Italian side who were comfortable 3-0
winners, effectively dumping Chelsea out of the competition in the group stage,
the first side to exit at this stage after winning it the season before.
Roberto Di Matteo, who guided Chelsea to the club’s first Champions League, was
then sacked, with his tactical understanding being questioned.
In came Rafael Benitez
as interim manager, but the Spaniard received a heavy chorus of boos upon his
first two appearances in the Stamford Bridge dugout, due to comments he’d made
in previous years about the Chelsea fans. Both games were drab 0-0 draws
against Manchester City and then Fulham, while a 3-1 loss away to West Ham
showed discontent in the squad and amongst the fans. The club world cup, a
tournament in which many expected Chelsea to win fairly comfortably went wrong
too, with Brazilian outfit Corinthians defeating the Blues 1-0 in a lackluster Chelsea
performance. As David Luiz sobbed, the season looked as if it was going
downhill, and fast.
Upon arriving back in England,
Chelsea saw off old rivals Leeds 5-1 in the Capital One Cup much to the delight
of the travelling Chelsea fans, while Aston Villa were thumped by an incredible
eight goals to nil in a league match. In this game, Chelsea had their old
swagger back while looking much more assured at the back, Juan Mata was looking
even more as impressive as he was last season, and Frank Lampard was looking
like his old self. Yet, in the first game of 2013, Benitez decided to rest
several key players, including Eden Hazard and Juan Mata as Chelsea missed the
chance to go third in a shock 1-0 home defeat to QPR. Inconsistency was again
holding Chelsea back.
The 4-0 win away to Stoke
was the ideal performance for a team in Chelsea’s position, solid and looking
threatening when on the attack. But, in what was becoming a theme throughout
the season, Chelsea threw away a 2-0 lead against Southampton who managed a 2-2
draw. A 2-1 win at home to fourth place rivals Arsenal was a boost, but losing
to Swansea in the Capital One Cup, losing Hazard for three games for kicking a
ballboy, a 2-2 draw away at Reading, a 3-2 loss to Newcastle were further
indications of inconsistency holding Chelsea back. Advancing in the Europa
League thanks to a late, great Eden Hazard goal against Sparta Prague showed Chelsea
were vulnerable to any team, while a Rafael Benitez rant against the Chelsea
fans after a 2-0 FA Cup win against Middlesbrough didn’t help matters.
Chelsea met Manchester
United for the third time out of five in March in the FA Cup in a truly
remarkable encounter. 2-0 down at half time due to goals from nemesis Javier
Hernandez and Wayne Rooney put Chelsea in dire straits, but the introduction of
John Obi Mikel gave Chelsea’s attackers a new lease of life in the second half
with Ramires, Hazard and Mata bombing forward as Chelsea were unlucky to only
leave with a 2-2 draw. Frank Lampard scored his 200th goal for Chelsea
against old team West Ham in a sublime Chelsea performance with Mata and Hazard
again starring. Despite a surprise 2-1 loss away to Southampton, Chelsea entered
April in a respectable fourth with a game in hand, while still in the Europa
League and FA cup after a sublime Demba Ba streak saw off United in the replay.
A pivotal, albeit not
pretty 2-1 win at home to Sunderland meant Chelsea were looking just about good
enough for Champions League qualification, but the 2-1 FA Cup semi-final loss
to Manchester City was a real blow and meant only the Europa League was within Chelsea’s
grasp. A stunning David Luiz strike helped Chelsea to a 3-0 win away to Fulham,
but a controversial 2-2 draw at Anfield after Luis Suarez appeared to bite
Branislav Ivanovic angered Chelsea who had led twice in the game due to goals
from Oscar (1-0) and Hazard (2-1).
Seeing off Basel in
the Europa League put Chelsea in a European final for consecutive seasons, while
wins away to Manchester United and a draw at home to Tottenham put Chelsea on
the brink of guaranteeing Champions League football next season. Frank Lampard’s
two goals against Aston Villa in a fierce game where both teams had a player
sent off, made him Chelsea’s all-time leading goalscorer on 203 goals,
coincided with the signing of his new contract. Then in Amsterdam, a last
minute, towering header from Branislav Ivanovic won Chelsea the Europa League
in a 2-1 win over the Benfica side that dominated most of the match. Finishing third
and winning the Europa League may not have been the season Chelsea fans dreamed
of, but given the managerial upheaval and oh so bleak midwinter, this season didn’t
turn out too bad for the Blues.
Player of the season:
Juan Mata
Goal of the season:
Oscar’s 2nd vs. Juventus (H)
Best performance of
the season: vs. Aston Villa (H)
Worst performance of
the season: vs. Corinthians (N)
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