Season: 2011–12

Notes

Sixth in the league, champions of Europe. Chelsea’s 2011–12 season refused to follow a sensible script: a troubled domestic campaign became the year the greatest prize finally came to Stamford Bridge, alongside a seventh FA Cup. André Villas-Boas began the season in charge, but was dismissed on 4 March 2012, the day after a 1–0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion. His assistant Roberto Di Matteo took over as caretaker that same day, with a fifth-round FA Cup replay at Birmingham his first match on 6 March. The Premier League finished with 64 points, 18 wins, ten draws and ten defeats, goals 65–46 and a +19 goal difference. Home form was 12–3–4; away, 6–7–6. Frank Lampard and Daniel Sturridge shared the league scoring lead with 11 each. Lampard led all competitions with 16 (11 league, two FA Cup, three Champions League), followed by Drogba and Sturridge on 13, Mata and Ramires on 12 and Torres on 11. League highlights included Lampard’s hat-trick in the 5–1 win at Bolton and Torres’s treble in the 6–1 home win over QPR. Sixth place could not secure Champions League football through the league; Munich would provide a different route back. The FA Cup path began with Portsmouth 4–0 and QPR 1–0, before Birmingham forced a replay with a 1–1 draw at the Bridge. Di Matteo’s side won 2–0 at St Andrew’s on 6 March, then beat Leicester 5–2 in the quarter-final. Tottenham were swept aside 5–1 at Wembley on 15 April. In the final on 5 May, Ramires burst through to open the scoring against Liverpool and Drogba made it 2–0 after the break. Andy Carroll pulled one back, then Čech’s magnificent save from another Carroll header protected the 2–1 lead. The cup was Chelsea’s for the fourth time in six seasons. Europe demanded something extraordinary at every turn. Chelsea topped Group E ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, Valencia and Genk, but a 3–1 defeat at Napoli on 21 February left the last-16 tie hanging by a thread. On 14 March, under Di Matteo, Drogba, Terry and Lampard’s penalty forced extra time at the Bridge; Ivanović then struck the winner for 4–1 on the night and 5–4 on aggregate. Benfica followed: Kalou earned a 1–0 away win on 27 March, and a 2–1 home victory on 4 April sealed a 3–1 aggregate success. Barcelona were beaten 1–0 at the Bridge on 18 April through Drogba. Six days later at the Camp Nou, Chelsea lost Cahill to injury and Terry to a red card, then found themselves 2–0 down. Ramires’s exquisite chip before half-time restored the away-goals advantage. Messi hit the bar with a penalty; Chelsea held on, and Torres raced clear in added time to round Valdés and make it 2–2, 3–2 on aggregate. Terry, Ivanović, Ramires and Meireles would all be suspended for the final. Somehow, the road still led to Munich. On 19 May, Bayern awaited in their own Allianz Arena. Ryan Bertrand made his Champions League debut in the final, playing ahead of Ashley Cole. Bayern dominated and Müller’s late header seemed to have settled it. Then Drogba rose to meet Mata’s corner in the 88th minute: 1–1. In extra time Čech saved Robben’s penalty. The shoot-out began badly when Neuer stopped Mata, but David Luiz and Lampard scored, Čech denied Olić, and Cole levelled it. Čech touched Schweinsteiger’s kick onto the post. Drogba stepped up and buried the decisive penalty: Chelsea won 4–3 after a 1–1 extra-time draw. Four years after Moscow, the European Cup was finally ours — the first London club to win it. The League Cup had ended in the quarter-finals: Fulham 0–0 after extra time, won 4–3 on penalties; Everton 2–1 after extra time; then Liverpool 0–2 at home on 29 November. Home league crowds averaged 41,478, with a high of 41,830 against Tottenham and a low of 40,651 against Wigan. The league table records the struggle; Wembley and Munich tell the story Chelsea supporters will always carry.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chelsea_F.C._seasons
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011%E2%80%9312_Chelsea_F.C._season
• https://www.fchd.info/CHELSEA.HTM
• https://www.bounder.friardale.co.uk/Summaries/2011.htm
• https://www.bounder.friardale.co.uk/Results/2011.htm
• https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/17250464
• https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/remember-when-chelsea-defeated-liverpool-on-the-biggest-fa-cup-s
• https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0250-0c50fb78a384-1434bbcadbcb-1000--shoot-out-win-ends-chelsea-s-long-wait-for-glory/
• https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/01fc-0e7df449e8f5-b7a861c948eb-1000--ten-man-chelsea-hold-off-barca-to-reach-final/
• https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/01fb-0e7d35f0336d-a44af3fd71ca-1000--ivanovic-completes-rousing-chelsea-comeback/
• https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/eng/aveeng2012.htm