Chelsea has already exceeded this season’s expectations
Frank Lampard took Chelsea fans on a wild ride last season, one which produced a proud feeling once the club legend’s side secured a top four spot. The English manager and his squad exceeded expectations for his first—and eventually, his only—full season in charge in west London. When paired with a £250 million spending spree last summer, this led to a lot of questions being asked about what the goal was for the 2020/21 campaign.
The general consensus amongst supporters was that the Blues needed to close the gap on Manchester City and Liverpool, advance further than the previous year in the Champions League and continue to contend for cup trophies. As we know by now, Lampard lost his job when these objectives looked unattainable. Against all odds, the new regime has come in and not only made the goals more achievable, but exceeded what was expected of its predecessors.
When Thomas Tuchel was named manager of Chelsea, his new club sat down in the Arsenal depths of the table. The Blues were ninth in the Premier League, so securing top four became the only thing the board asked of him. In a matter of weeks, the German whipped his team into shape and had it knocking on the door of the top four. After Sunday’s latest round of Premier League matches, Chelsea has a two-point advantage over West Ham (fifth) for an automatic UCL place for next season.
Goals are ever-changing—just look at Liverpool to see a perfect example of this—and Tuchel’s updated objective list is growing by the game. He’s on track to achieve what he was brought in to do already, in addition to checking off the list of Lampard’s expectations, as well.
How has Chelsea already exceeded this season’s goals?
Tuchel’s Blues aren’t in the hunt for the league title, nor were they ever going to be. However, barring a collapse of epic proportions, they’re on track to close the gap between themselves and the champions. Liverpool won the league last season by opening a trench between itself and Chelsea that spanned 33 points. The Reds have put up the worst title defense since Jose Mourinho’s Blues in 2014/15, but Chelsea isn’t too far off this year’s leader, Manchester City, either. The Citizens have a game in hand on the Blues, but sit 20 points clear. This isn’t anything to celebrate in the eyes of the Blues faithful; it is a sign of improvement though, which is all we asked.
On other fronts, Chelsea’s win over Sheffield United on Sunday—albeit uninspiring—was a significant step the team took toward another FA Cup final. The Blues booked their ticket to Wembley, where they will take on Man City with a trip to the title on the line. Further, Chelsea’s complete domination of Atletico Madrid in the UCL Round of 16 has supporters dreaming of 2012, and a major European trophy, for the first time since 2014. Porto stands in the way of a Champions League semifinals right now, but the fact remains, the Blues made it further than years prior.
Tuchel has Chelsea playing some excellent football at the moment. In addition to exceeding expectations, the Blues are posting new records. They haven’t conceded a goal in their last 11+ hours on the pitch and matched a clean sheet mark (alongside the 1905/06, 2003/04 and 2005/06 sides) with seven consecutive games. Takumi Minamino remains the only opposing player to break down the German’s three-man back line, as the Blues have kept clean sheets in 12 of 14 since Tuchel took charge. Overall, the streak moves to 15 unbeaten in all competitions.
dark. Next. Chelsea's lost wonderkids: Patrick Bamford and what could've been
The home stretch awaits on the other side of the international break. The remainder of Chelsea’s schedule will be jam-packed and insanely challenging, but rest assured, this season has been a huge success.