Season: 2020–21

Notes

Nine years after Munich, Chelsea were champions of Europe again. The road to Porto was anything but straight: a summer of major arrivals, the painful departure of Frank Lampard and a mid-season transformation under Thomas Tuchel. Werner, Havertz, Ziyech, Chilwell, Thiago Silva and Mendy helped reshape the squad, but the season’s defining image would be Havertz running onto Mount’s pass and rounding Ederson. In a year when supporters were mostly shut out of stadiums, Chelsea found their way back to the very top of European football. Lampard began the campaign and guided Chelsea unbeaten through their Champions League group. Domestically, however, early promise gave way to a difficult winter. Defeats at Everton, Wolves, Arsenal and Leicester, and at home to Manchester City, left the team struggling for consistency. Abraham’s hat-trick in the 3–1 FA Cup win over Luton on 24 January proved to be Lampard’s last match. He was dismissed on 25 January 2021; Tuchel was appointed the following day on an initial 18-month contract. The first game of the new era was a goalless home draw with Wolves on 27 January. A back three, wing-backs and a more secure defensive structure quickly changed the feel of the team, and Tuchel went unbeaten through his first 14 matches in all competitions. Chelsea finished fourth with 67 points: 19 wins, ten draws and nine defeats, goals 58–36 and a +22 difference. At home the record was 9–6–4, goals 31–18; away it was 10–4–5, goals 27–18. Jorginho led the league scoring with seven, all penalties. Abraham and Werner shared the overall lead on 12 each, followed by Giroud with 11; Havertz and Mount scored nine apiece. Tuchel’s league run included wins at Tottenham and Liverpool, and a late Alonso winner in the 2–1 victory at Manchester City. There were setbacks too, notably the 5–2 home defeat by West Brom. A crucial 2–1 home win over Leicester on 18 May, through Rüdiger and a Jorginho penalty, put the top-four race back in Chelsea’s hands. The final day brought a 2–1 defeat at Aston Villa, but Tottenham’s 4–2 win at Leicester kept Chelsea fourth, one point above the Foxes. The Champions League campaign had solid foundations before the change of coach. Chelsea topped Group E unbeaten with 14 points, ahead of Sevilla, Krasnodar and Rennes. Giroud scored all four goals in the 4–0 win at Sevilla on 2 December, a remarkable display of finishing. In the last 16, his overhead kick beat Atlético Madrid 1–0 in the nominal away leg in Bucharest on 23 February. Ziyech and Emerson completed a 2–0 home win on 17 March: 3–0 on aggregate, with the new defensive authority plain to see. Pandemic travel restrictions then took both legs against Porto to Seville. Mount and Chilwell scored in the 2–0 first-leg win on 7 April; a 1–0 defeat six days later still sent Chelsea through 2–1 overall. Real Madrid stood between Chelsea and the final. Pulisic’s composed finish helped earn a 1–1 away draw on 27 April. At the Bridge on 5 May, Werner headed Chelsea ahead after Havertz hit the bar, and Mount finished Pulisic’s cut-back late on to seal a 2–0 win and a 3–1 aggregate victory. Kanté’s energy, ball-winning and surges through midfield gave the tie its rhythm. Chelsea had beaten Atlético, Porto and Real Madrid without conceding more than once in any of those ties. Now Manchester City awaited in an all-English final at Porto’s Estádio do Dragão. On 29 May 2021, Chelsea won 1–0 and lifted the European Cup for the second time. Werner’s movement stretched City, Rüdiger made a vital challenge on Foden and, even after Thiago Silva went off injured, the defence held together with Christensen coming on. In the 42nd minute, Mount split City open with a beautifully weighted pass; Havertz reached it before Ederson, went around the goalkeeper and rolled the ball into the empty net. It was his first Champions League goal, saved for the biggest possible stage. There was still a long second half to survive. Kanté was everywhere and was named player of the match; James, Chilwell, Azpilicueta and the centre-backs helped protect Mendy with fierce concentration. Pulisic went close on the break, Mahrez’s late effort went just over and then the whistle released the celebrations. Chelsea finished the competition with nine wins, three draws, one defeat and goals 23–4. Porto belonged to the Blues. The FA Cup came painfully close to making it a double. Morecambe were beaten 4–0 and Luton 3–1 under Lampard; under Tuchel, Abraham’s goal won at Barnsley 1–0, Sheffield United were beaten 2–0 and Ziyech settled the Wembley semi-final against Manchester City 1–0 on 17 April. Leicester won the final 1–0 on 15 May through Tielemans’ long-range strike in the 63rd minute. Schmeichel made important saves and Chelsea’s late celebrations were cut short when a would-be equaliser involving Chilwell was ruled out for offside. The League Cup had ended much earlier: Havertz scored a hat-trick in the 6–0 win over Barnsley, before a 1–1 fourth-round draw at Tottenham on 29 September became a 5–4 shoot-out defeat, Mount missing the last Chelsea penalty. The empty stands remained part of the story. Only two of Chelsea’s 19 home league matches admitted spectators: Leeds on 5 December and Leicester on 18 May, both under restricted-capacity arrangements. The other 17 were behind closed doors. The returns of supporters were welcome flashes of life, not a normal season of crowds. By the end, the disappointment of Wembley and the tension of the top-four race had been overtaken by a night in Porto that joined Munich in Chelsea memory: a team rebuilt in mid-season, an academy graduate supplying the decisive pass and a young German finishing the job.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chelsea_F.C._seasons
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020%E2%80%9321_Chelsea_F.C._season
• https://www.fchd.info/CHELSEA.HTM
• https://www.bounder.friardale.co.uk/Summaries/2020.htm
• https://www.bounder.friardale.co.uk/Results/2020.htm
• https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/tuchel-joins-chelsea
• https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/post-season-briefing-2020-21
• https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/chelsea-goals-in-2020-21
• https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/memorable-home-wins-against-leicester-city
• https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/supporters-to-return-for-chelsea-vs-leicester-premier-league-fix
• https://lufchistory.com/seasons/2020-2021/2020-12-05-vs-chelsea/
• https://thefa.com/news/2021/may/15/chelsea-leicester-fa-cup-final-20210515
• https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/55801917
• https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0269-12650cedca55-37515f69768e-1000--man-city-0-1-chelsea-havertz-gives-blues-second-champions/