Season: 2012–13

Notes

From the champions’ homecoming to another European night that belonged to Chelsea, 2012–13 was a marathon of 69 competitive matches across eight competitions. Eden Hazard and Oscar joined a side still glowing from Munich, with Juan Mata providing invention between the lines. Roberto Di Matteo’s team made a flying league start, but the autumn brought a sharp change of mood. After the 3–0 Champions League defeat at Juventus on 20 November, Di Matteo was dismissed on 21 November and Rafael Benítez was appointed interim manager that same day, until the end of the season. It was not a universally welcomed appointment, but the players still had a huge campaign to finish. Chelsea finished third in the Premier League: 75 points from 22 wins, nine draws and seven defeats, goals 75–39 and a +36 difference. At the Bridge the record was 12–5–2, goals 41–16; away it was 10–4–5, goals 34–23. There were exhilarating days — 4–2 at Tottenham, 8–0 at home to Aston Villa on 23 December — and costly dropped points. The late run included a 1–0 win at Manchester United, Lampard’s unforgettable double at Villa Park and a final-day 2–1 home win over Everton on 19 May. Third place meant a direct return to the Champions League group stage. League crowds averaged 41,462, with 41,794 against Everton the high and 38,484 against Southampton the low. Frank Lampard led the league scoring with 15. On 11 May at Aston Villa, his equaliser drew him level with Bobby Tambling’s club record of 202 goals; his 88th-minute winner took him to 203, Chelsea’s new all-time record. Fernando Torres led the season overall with 22: eight in the league, one in the FA Cup, two in the League Cup, three in the Champions League, six in the Europa League and one each in the Community Shield and Club World Cup. Mata contributed 20, Lampard 17, Hazard 13, Oscar 12 and Victor Moses ten. This was a team learning a new attacking language while leaning on familiar figures when the pressure rose. The Champions League defence ended in Group E. Oscar’s two goals in the 2–2 home draw with Juventus and Moses’s last-gasp winner in the 3–2 home victory over Shakhtar offered hope, but defeats in Donetsk (2–1) and Turin (3–0) were decisive. Chelsea beat Nordsjælland 4–0 away and 6–1 at home, yet finished third on ten points, behind Shakhtar on head-to-head away goals. Juventus’s 1–0 win in Donetsk on 5 December closed the door. The holders were out at the group stage, but the Europa League offered a chance to turn disappointment into something worth keeping. Sparta Prague were overcome 2–1 on aggregate, Oscar scoring in the 1–0 away win and Hazard rescuing a 1–1 home draw late on. A 1–0 defeat at Steaua Bucharest was overturned 3–1 at the Bridge, Torres scoring the decisive goal for 3–2 overall. Rubin Kazan were beaten 3–1 at home before a 3–2 defeat in the away leg, played in Moscow, secured a 5–4 aggregate passage. Basel followed: David Luiz’s late free-kick earned a 2–1 away win on 25 April, then Torres, Moses and Luiz scored in a 3–1 home win on 2 May, 5–2 on aggregate. Amsterdam was waiting. On 15 May, Benfica gave Chelsea a fierce examination at the Amsterdam ArenA. Čech’s throw and Mata’s touch released Torres, who held off Luisão, rounded Artur and put the Blues ahead in the 60th minute. Cardozo equalised from the penalty spot eight minutes later after Azpilicueta’s handball. Čech kept Chelsea alive, Lampard rattled the bar near the end, and extra time seemed certain. Then Mata delivered a corner and Branislav Ivanović rose at the far post, sending a looping header into the opposite corner in the third minute of added time. Benfica 1, Chelsea 2. A year after Munich, another European trophy was coming home; for a brief spell Chelsea held the Champions League and Europa League trophies simultaneously. The domestic cups both ended in semi-finals. In the FA Cup, Demba Ba scored twice on his debut in the 5–1 win at Southampton; Brentford required a replay (2–2 away, 4–0 home), followed by Middlesbrough 2–0. Hazard and Ramires rescued a 2–2 draw at Manchester United, before Ba’s superb finish won the replay 1–0 on 1 April. Manchester City then won 2–1 at Wembley on 14 April despite Ba’s reply. The League Cup brought Wolves 6–0, Manchester United 5–4 after extra time and Leeds 5–1, before Swansea won 2–0 at the Bridge on 9 January and held Chelsea 0–0 away on 23 January. Three other trophies slipped away. The Community Shield at Villa Park on 12 August ended 3–2 to Manchester City, with Torres and Bertrand scoring for Chelsea and Ivanović sent off. Atlético Madrid won the UEFA Super Cup 4–1 in Monaco on 31 August, Falcao scoring a first-half hat-trick and Cahill the Chelsea consolation. In Japan, a 3–1 Club World Cup semi-final win over Monterrey on 13 December led to a 1–0 final defeat by Corinthians in Yokohama three days later, Guerrero scoring the winner. It was a season of fatigue, upheaval and near misses — but Amsterdam supplied its lasting image, Ivanović above the crowd and another blue celebration.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chelsea_F.C._seasons
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012%E2%80%9313_Chelsea_F.C._season
• https://www.fchd.info/CHELSEA.HTM
• https://www.bounder.friardale.co.uk/Summaries/2012.htm
• https://www.bounder.friardale.co.uk/Results/2012.htm
• https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/eng/aveeng2013.htm
• https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/looking-back-to-lampard-s-words-on-the-day-he-broke-the-record
• https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/exclusive-fernando-torres-interview--amsterdam-memories-and-his-1
• https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/0250-0c50fd9b3ece-eb6083db556a-1000--ivanovic-heads-chelsea-to-europa-league-glory/
• https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0203-0e81215f68db-82dc93e8207a-1000--chelsea-bring-in-benitez-for-rest-of-season/
• https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/025a-0ea9693b5956-5470ad9577cc-1000--holders-out-as-six-goal-chelsea-win-in-vain/
• https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/693669