Chelsea has the FA Cup to focus on, but they should know that a good performance domestically will be needed to perform against Bayern Munich a week later.
The main goal of the season, qualifying for top four while integrating the youth, was achieved. The secondary goal, silverware, always felt like a long shot yet here Chelsea is in yet another final. The Blues are set to face off against Arsenal (again) in the final, but the season does not end there.
The Blues still have the not so small matter of Bayern Munich. With three away goals, it is widely expected that the German side will advance over Chelsea. But there is still a game to be played and as cliche as it sounds, that means anything can happen.
Of course, a good performance against Bayern will be predicated on the performance in the FA Cup. With only a week between the two, Chelsea needs to create momentum that Bayern will not have the same luxury of. That starts with a good showing in the FA Cup.
For the most part this season, Chelsea has shown up when they had to. They squeaked out of the Champions League group. Crucial wins against Tottenham (twice), Arsenal, and Manchester City saw the Blues into fourth. Even to make the FA Cup final, the Blues had to overcome Liverpool, Leicester City, and Manchester United.
So the Blues can turn up on the days they really need to. That will have to happen against Arsenal as well. While a loss would not mark the end of Champions League as well if the performance is good, any loss to Arsenal is gut wrenching, especially with silverware on the line. Indirectly, that means to get past Bayern, Chelsea will have to get past Arsenal as well. The final is simply a prelude to another “final”.
The odds are steep but the Blues know how to overcome them. Frank Lampard was himself a part of those types of Chelsea teams. Overcoming Napoli after the first leg deficit, getting past “the best team ever” Barcelona, and then Bayern Munich in their own back yard. The Blues are returning to that back yard to play their own game again.
But it all starts in Chelsea’s second home: Wembley Stadium. Chelsea will not want a repeat of their last FA Cup final against the Gunners. That will prove to be a miserable day and will make the Bayern Munich mountain insurmountable. Instead, Chelsea will be looking to replicate last year’s Europa League final where the Blues absolutely shell shocked their English rivals who were way too in their own heads about the match.
The Blues can then carry that momentum on to Bayern and hopefully further than that. The FA Cup is the main point of attention but it is hard to deny how it can play into the match in Germany. It is also hard to deny that Chelsea has a history of doing the impossible when nothing is expected of them against football’s more “glamorous” sides.
Can Chelsea have another miracle in Munich? It will start with a win at Wembley to make it possible.