Of all the teams that had a surprise season in the 2022/23 campaign, Chelsea were the most surprising, but not in a good way.
The Blues put up one the poorest performances in their history last season, so much so that not even the three managers they had in the dugout could help. The club ended up finishing 12th even after spending over £600 million in transfers.
They missed out on European football for the first time since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovic bought the club in 2003.
With new manager Mauricio Pochettino leading Chelsea into the new season, a lot is expected from the club that won the Champions League as recently as 2021. How will Pochettino’s first season at the club pan out?
Preseason
Unlike last season, Chelsea went unbeaten in preseason. They beat Brighton and Hove Albion 4-3, drew 1-1 with Newcastle, beat Fulham 2-0 all in the Premier League Summer Series competition held in the USA, before wrapping up their preseason with a 1-all draw against Borussia Dortmund.
These performances showed that Pochettino can bring something out of the Chelsea squad but he still has some work to do if the club is to compete for the top four with the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle, who look stronger now.
Key fixtures
Chelsea vs Liverpool
Chelsea play their first match of the 2023/24 season at Stamford Bridge against Liverpool this Sunday, August 12 and the return leg will be played on January 31, 2024.
Just like the Stamford Bridge outfit, Liverpool also had their own problems last season, especially in the first half which eventually tantamounted in them finishing outside of the top four for the first time in Jurgen Klopp’s era.
This match will help us answer the question of which team has made the most progress from last season’s poor showdown.
Chelsea vs Arsenal
After the Liverpool game, Chelsea will have a string of “easy” matches until they host Arsenal on Saturday, October 21. The second leg of this fixture will be played on March 16, 2024. The Blues lost to the Gunners home and away last season, but will strive for that sweet revenge when they meet this season.
If fit, Chelsea will have to face their former player Kai Havertz who joined Arsenal this summer.
Tottenham vs Chelsea
The first away match against the ‘Big six’ for Chelsea will be a London derby against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, November 4 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The second leg will be played on February 24, 2024 at Stamford Bridge.
Both clubs have new managers, but they will no longer be new in November, and Pochettino will face his former employers for the first time since his sacking in 2019.
When these two teams met last season, they drew 2-2 in the first leg, before Tottenham winning the second leg 2-0, a match that added more pressure to former manager Graham Potter who was eventually sacked, and replaced by Frank Lampard.
Chelsea vs Manchester City
Chelsea were tormented by Manchester City last season. They faced four times and Man City came out victors in all those times, including eliminating them from both the Carabao and FA cups.
The two clubs meet this season for the first leg at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, November 11 and the second leg on February 17, 2024, at Etihad Stadium. Chelsea will want to redeem themselves from last season’s humiliation and get something out of this fixture but with the way Man City are made up, Pochettino’s men will have to work twice as hard.
Manchester United vs Chelsea
Chelsea will wrap up the first leg of matches against the Big six with a trip to Manchester United’s Old Trafford on Wednesday, December 6. The second leg will be played on April 4, 2024 at Stamford Bridge.
During their poor run of form last season, the two teams drew 1-1 in the first leg and when they met again in May this year, Manchester United were 4-1 victors with then-interim manager Lampard in charge.
Will Pochettino help Chelsea get the better of the Red Devils this season?
Transfer business
Chelsea have been one of the most active clubs in this summer transfer window. The club got a big broom and decided to sweep away almost half their squad with players like Edouard Mendy, Pierre-Emeric Aubameyang, N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly, Cezar Azpilicueta, Kai Havertz, and Mateo Kovacic leaving for Saudi Arabia and Europe.
They have also brought in players they think will do better than the ones that were let go. Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig, €60m), Axel Disasi (Monaco, €45m), Nicolas Jackson (Villarreal, €37m), Lesley Ugochukwu (Rennes, €27m), Robert Sánchez (Brighton, €23m), Ângelo (Santos, €15m), Andrey Santos (Vasco da Gama, €12.5m), Alex Matos (Norwich, free), Diego Manuel Jadon da Silva (Benfica, Free) have all been brought in.
Expectations for next season
As mentioned above, Chelsea cleared out numerous players that they feel were not at the standard that is required at the club and brought in new ones that they expect to help the club challenge for top positions.
New signings Jackson and Nkuku impressed in attack during the preseason and showed what they can offer. Mykhailo Mudryk and Chukwuemeka are expected to provide additional attacking force. However, Chelsea will play without Nkuku for the first part of the season as he got injured during their tour of the US.
Their attack looks good but the defence that has Thiago Silva, Reece James, and Ben Chilwell. has been leaky in preseason. They will have to work on that.
With all the clubs in the top four recruiting to strengthen their squad for next season, Chelsea will have to do so much more on the pitch to finish in decent positions.
