Chelsea’s unlucky 13: The defeats that defined the 2017/18 campaign
Whilst victories give an indication of how well a team have done when the points are totted up, the defeats define the season. Chelsea lost an unlucky 13 of their 58 games during 2017-18.
Ten of Chelsea’s defeats came in their Premier League defence. Those defeats saw Antonio Conte’s side miss out on Champions League football, but qualify for the Europa League.
They also reached the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup losing at the semi-final stage to Arsenal. and won the FA Cup. In the Champions League, Conte’s team of malcontents went out in the Round of 16. Yet we’re led to believe it was a bad season. That gives a good indication of how far this club have come through the years. The expectation is almost overwhelming.
Looking back, one question for Antonio Conte would be why he persevered with Eden Hazard in the false-nine role when Alvaro Morata was injured or playing with a back injury, and with Olivier Giroud ready and waiting to start.
The other stand-out is that nearly half of the defeats were derbies. The team need to look at how they approach games against London opposition. Their inability to match the attitude and application of Crystal Palace, West Ham and Watford saw them miss out on
nine points.
15 August: Chelsea 2-3 Burnley
Starting formation: 3-4-3, Starting striker: Alvaro Morata
Eden Hazard was missing having fractured his ankle on international duty during the summer. To add insult to injury, Gary Cahill was dismissed with just 14 minutes gone. Burnley took advantage by scoring three first-half goals.
Chelsea rallied in the second period with newbie Alvaro Morata opening his account before Cesc Fabregas received his second yellow, reducing the Blues to nine men. David Luiz grabbed a late second, but it was never going to be enough.
30 September: Chelsea 0-1 Manchester City
Starting formation: 3-5-1-1, Starting striker: Alvaro Morata
This slender defeat to high-flying City didn’t really tell the whole story. The game followed a hard-fought away win against Atletico Madrid in the group stages of the Champions League. That trip didn’t help, and Chelsea were never at the races in this one. The 1-0 loss flattered them. The stats were damning: four shots for the Blues, two on target. Alvaro Morata went off injured in the first half and Kevin de Bruyne won the game for City in the second.
14 October: Crystal Palace 2-1 Chelsea
Starting formation: 3-4-3, Starting striker: Michy Batshuayi
This was a shocker and so, so Chelsea. Palace came into the game with no Premier League points or goals, sitting firmly rooted at the bottom of the table. Of course, being a minor London side they saw fit to raise their game when the big boys came to visit. A Cesar Azpilicueta own goal finally got the home side’s campaign going. Tiemoue Bakayoko quickly equalised, but Wilfried Zaha gave the Eagles their first crucial victory with a goal on the stroke of half-time.
31 October: Roma 3-0 Chelsea
Starting formation: 3-4-3, Starting striker: Alvaro Morata
After that victory in Madrid, Chelsea headed to Italy confident of getting a result. That positivity quickly disappeared when Stephan El-Shaarawy opened the scoring with 38 seconds gone. Despite the early setback, Chelsea did not play too badly – they were simply not clinical enough in front of goal.
El-Shaarawy scored Roma’s second before the break, and Chelsea just could not take a foothold in the game. Roma sealed their victory with a third goal in the second half.
9 December: West Ham 1-0 Chelsea
Starting formation: 3-5-1-1, Starting striker: Alvaro Morata
Chelsea fell victim to that little Londoner syndrome once again, losing to one of the capital’s lesser teams. An early Marko Arnautovic goal defeated a Blues team lacking any kind of confidence in front of goal. A collective inability to trouble Adrian in the Hammers goal, save for two first efforts, was simply not good enough. Chelsea had 19 shots at the goal, with just those first-half efforts on target.
24 January: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
Starting formation: 3-4-3, Starting striker: Eden Hazard
Chelsea had made it to the Carabao Cup semi-final despite their perceived poor season. The 2-1 defeat at the Emirates eliminated them from the competition after drawing the home tie 0-0.
Eden Hazard started in the false-nine role and opened the scoring after seven minutes. An unfortunate deflected own-goal by Antonio Rudiger gave the Gunners an equaliser just five minutes later. The German, aided Arsenal’s victory in the second half when he again unintentionally deflected a ball to Granit Xhaka, who finished from close range.
31 January: Chelsea 0-3 Bournemouth
Starting formation: 3-4-3, Starting striker: Eden Hazard
New signings Emerson Palmieri and Olivier Giroud were unveiled as Chelsea players at half-time on the final day of the January transfer window. Michy Batshuayi had left for Borussia Dortmund on loan and Alvaro Morata was missing with a back injury. That once again left Eden Hazard as the focal point of Chelsea’s attack.
After a goalless first half, Bournemouth hit with three goals in 16 second-half minutes. Sticking the knife in, former Chelsea defender Nathan Ake scored the last goal. That was game over and the Stamford Bridge crowd were left reeling after another home defeat.
5 February: Watford 4-1 Chelsea
Starting formation: 3-4-3, Starting striker: Eden Hazard
Watford is based near enough to London to be regarded as a minor London team. In true little Londoner style, the Hornets raised their game.
The first half was not Chelsea’s best of the season. It was certainly not Tiemoue Bakayoko’s. He found himself back in the dressing room within 30 minutes having picked up two yellow cards in quick succession. Troy Deeney gave the home side the lead with a penalty just before the break.
Must Read: Chelsea should follow the 30/30 rule and take a pass on Robert Lewandowski
The introduction of Giroud saw Chelsea up their game as Hazard equalised. Thinking they could get the win, Chelsea chased the winning goal. They didn’t get it, and Watford scored three goals in the last six minutes to secure the victory. It was a bitter capitulation.
25 February: Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea
Starting formation: 3-4-3, Starting striker: Alvaro Morata
Alvaro Morata was back from injury and Chelsea at least started this game with a recognised striker. This defeat, bad as any loss is, differed from those weak submissions of the previous weeks. Antonio Conte’s side looked more than capable of getting something from the game.
Willian gave his side the lead during a first half the Blues dominated. Morata hit the woodwork and Conte’s team were putting a shift in. In a familiar story, United quickly equalised. Romelu Lukaku poked the ball home as Andreas Christensen was taken out in the build-up to the goal. Chelsea remained the better team, but the game ended in defeat when Jesse Lingard stole between Cesar Azpilicueta and Christensen to head home the winner.
4 March: Manchester City 1-0 Chelsea
Starting formation : 3-4-3, Starting striker: Eden Hazard
A second consecutive weekend in Manchester resulted in another defeat. Whilst against United Chelsea had shown fight and craft, against Pep Guardiola’s City they showed nothing of the sort. Antonio Conte’s use of Eden Hazard in the false-nine role failed miserably once again. Victory against the champions-elect was never going to be easy, but the performance was abject.
Must Read: Chelsea vs. Antonio Conte: Both sides make strong, sympathetic cases
Antonio Conte’s men looked bereft of interest or ideas. At times it was walking football. 29% possession with just three shots and none on target give an indication of just how poor the performance was. Bernardo Silva broke the deadlock as soon as the second half got underway. It was a miserably unforgettable afternoon.
14 March: Barcelona 3-0 Chelsea
Starting formation: 5-4-1, Starting striker: Olivier Giroud
Chelsea came into the Round of 16 second leg at Camp Nou having drawn the first game 1-1. Lionel Messi – who had never scored against Chelsea – wasted no time in putting that right. The build-up to the first goal inside two minutes came via another unfortunate deflection, this time off Marcos Alonso. Messi fired low under Courtois as he struggled to get down.
A quick breakaway goal on 20 minutes for Ousmane Dembele all but sealed Chelsea’s fate. Despite their best efforts, the game was over when Messi fired the ball between Courtois’ legs during the second half.
Chelsea were not quite as bad as the scoreline suggested. Had they taken their chances in the game at Stamford Bridge, the aggregate could have been very different.
1 April: Chelsea 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Starting formation: 3-4-3, Starting striker: Alvaro Morata
This defeat really hurt. This was the big chance for a final push for a top-four finish. Having taken the lead through an Alvaro Morata header in the 30′, Chelsea once again failed to hold onto it for very long. Tottenham levelled when a long-range Christian Eriksen effort beat Willy Caballero, in for the injured Thibaut Courtois. That late goal shifted the impetus to Spurs and Dele Alli secured the win with two goals in five second-half minutes.
It was by no means the worst performance of the season, but no Chelsea player wants a home defeat to Spurs on their CV.
13 May: Newcastle United 3-0 Chelsea
Starting formation: 3-5-1-1, Starting striker: Olivier Giroud
The final capitulation took place at St. James Park and the Interim One, Rafa Benitez, presided over the Blues’ final defeat of the season. Off the back of a hopeless performance and draw at home to Huddersfield, Chelsea needed Liverpool to lose against Brighton and they had to beat the Toon. Neither of those scenarios happened.
Chelsea did not even attempt to make a game of it and Newcastle enjoyed scoring three goals in what amounted to a training game.
Next: World Cup and new manager should destroy Chelsea's cliques ahead of next season
But it’s all over now, and what’s done is done. We can sit back and enjoy the World Cup before once again forgetting the past season, it’s 13-defeats and expectantly awaiting the next.