Chelsea: Not a shabby season, despite turmoil and patchy performances

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 led 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 horribly 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.