BPL 2014: Day 2 - Chelsea 2 Aston Villa 1

Continuing their excellent home form, Chelsea managed to scrape through resilient Aston Villa in their second match of the season to beat them 2-1. Chelsea had to fight really hard to secure three points against Aston Villa, who had surprised the pundits by beating Arsenal at Emirates by 3-1 in their last match. Jose Mourinho managed to get back on winning terms against Aston Villa with a previous record of no wins in the last 4 matches. Although Chelsea had registered a massive victory of 8-0 against this opposition in the last season, it was not smooth sailing this time around with a much more confident Aston Villa side.

Chelsea came out with the same formation (4-2-3-1) as the last match but introduced Juan Mata and Demba Ba in the first match of their seasons. Branislav Ivanovic, John Terry, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole in defence; Ramires and Frank Lampard as holding midfielders; Oscar, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard as attacking midfielders and Demba Ba as a striker upfront.

Chelsea got on to the score sheet with a very early attempt by Eden Hazard that was parried into the goal by Aston Villa's keeper Antonio Luna, which was then determined as an own goal. Both the sides constantly knocked at each others doors but could not succeed in scoring the second goal of the match. Christian Benteke gave Aston Villa an equalizer in the dying minutes of the first half to finish the half with a tied score of 1-1. Second half of the match saw introduction of Romelu Lukaku and Andre Schurrle to the team by replacing Demba Ba and Juan Mata. 17 minutes from regulation time, Chelsea took the crucial lead with Braninslav Ivanovic's header that came off Frank Lampard's free kick. Aston Villa created chances for potentially equalizing the score but could not capitalize on their chances. Chelsea finally managed to fend off Aston Villa's constant pressure to end the match with a final score of 2-1.

Jose Mourinho appreciated Villa's efforts in the post-match conference by stating that a draw would also have been a fair reflection of the game. On the other side, Villa's manager Paul Lambert was proud of his team for putting up a fight against Chelsea and also applauded Petr Cech's goal-keeping prowess that kept Chelsea in the game.

Chelsea will now face Manchester United in their next match away from home, which supposedly is pitted as one of the crucial matches of the season. With Sir Alex Ferguson's exit last season , it would be interesting to see how David Moyes motivates his team to face Chelsea at their home to keep them at par with the contenders of the title. Chelsea will travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on 26th August 2013. Last season, this fixture saw one of the most poorly officiated matches of recent times, fans will hope that this time around it is the players who will get a chance to write the script of the game and not the referees.

Article References:
1. http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/matchday/matches/2013-2014/epl.html/chelsea-vs-aston-villa
2. http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/3420871/title/match-report-chelsea-2-aston-villa-1
3. http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/3420946/title/cech-very-difficult-win

Image References:
1.  http://www.voltbet.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/chesvil.png
2. http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/3420871/title/match-report-chelsea-2-aston-villa-1
3. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2399171/Chelsea-2-Aston-Villa-1--match-report-Thumping-Branislav-Ivanovic-header-rescues-Blues-Jose-Mourinho-Paul-Lambert-square-touchline.html

BPL 2014: Day 1 - Chelsea 2 Hull City 0

After all the hoopla about Jose Mourinho returning to Chelsea, it was time to get down to business at Stamford Bridge when Chelsea welcomed Hull City for their first match of the new Barclays Premier League Season 2013/2014. Jose received a very heart-warming welcome from the fans in the stadium for his fifth season as a Chelsea manager after a gap of nearly 6 years. Jose is and will always be a respected figure at Stamford Bridge for all his contributions to the Chelsea team over the years. After signing for Chelsea, Jose had already made his feelings clear about his return by indicating that he is at the place where he belongs.

Chelsea have managed to bring in new talents in the lights of Andre Schurrle, Kevin De Bruyne and Marco van Ginkel to further strengthen the midfield. Chelsea are still in pursuit of a striker to fill in the gap left by under-performing Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and inexperienced Romelu Lukaku. Wayne Rooney and Samuel Eto'o are currently being chased by Chelsea officials to fill in this gap.

Jose Mourinho started the team with a 4-2-3-1 arrangement with Branislav Ivanovic, John Terry, Gary Cahill and Ashley Cole in defence; Ramires and Frank Lampard as Holding Midfielders; Eden Hazard, Oscar and Kevin De Bruyne as Attacking Midfielders and Fernando Torres as a Forward. Jose left out Juan Mata on the bench because of his fitness concerns.

Chelsea had an early opportunity to lead when they were handed a penalty thanks to Hull keeper Allan McGregor's foul on Fernando Torres. The keeper managed to compensate for his foul be saving Frank Lampard's attempt to goal from this penalty. However he was not so lucky second time around, when a superb through pass by Kevin De Bruyne was capitalised by Oscar by tapping the ball into the goal. Frank Lampard came on to the score sheet with a thunder-bolt of a free-kick from 30 yards to take Chelsea up by 2 goals. Hull City did manage to put pressure on Chelsea in the second half but Chelsea managed to sustain this and finished the game 2-0. Andre Schurrle, Marco van Ginkel and Romelu Lukaku were given a chance to play as substitues in the second half.

 Jose Mourinho managed to maintain his clean home record at Stamford Bridge with this opening day win. He emphasized that he had seen the best Chelsea team in the first half and insisted that there was more to come. Chelsea will face tougher opponents (Aston Villa) in their next match on 21st August 2013 at home. Although it is too early to predict the contenders of the Premier League this season, Chelsea definitely have bright chances this year owing to the talent in the team and the right manager to harness this talent for the team.

Article Sources:
1. http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/matchday/matches/2013-2014/epl.match-report.html/chelsea-vs-hull
2. http://www.chelseafc.com/chelsea-article/article/3365344
3. http://www.chelseafc.com/chelsea-article/article/3365433

Image Sources:
1. http://bluechampions.com/2013/08/14/chelsea-vs-hull-city-preview-predictions/
2. http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/chelsea/result/result-chelsea-stroll-past-hull_99323.html

BPL 2013: Day 9: Chelsea vs Manchester United: Match Officials ruin the day as Chelsea face their first defeat of the season

Not just the Chelsea fans, but even as neutrals, we were witness to one the most poorly officiated games in recent years in the Chelsea versus Manchester United match in the Barclays Premier League match at Stamford Bridge. Horrendous decisions in the second half lead to a highly potential game turn into in a lost cause for Chelsea. Things were looking challenging for both the sets of the fans in the early second half when the scoreline was 2-2 and the game could have literally gone in any direction. But instead it turned into one where the referee (instead of the players !) had a major role to play in the final outcome of the match.

Van Persie gave Manchester United a strong start with 2 early goals within the first 12 minutes of the game. The first one came lucky as the ball hit David Luiz to fall back in to the net, whereas the second goal was scored thanks to a brilliant cross from Valencia that left Chelsea defenders reaching for the ball. Manchester United looked very strong and swift in the early stages of the match. Chelsea on the other side were not playing up to their potential and with a defeat on their back in the mid-week against Shakthar Donetsk in Champions League, things seemed gloomy for them initially. But as the game progressed Chelsea started to find rhythm with their three innovative players Mata, Oscar and Hazard. Eventually just before the break, Juan Mata curled in an excellent free kick to give Chelsea the hope to savor something from the game. At the break the score read 1-2 for Chelsea.

As the second half started, Chelsea looked confident and were able to replicate their form from the first half. Thanks to this persistence, Chelsea scored again to level the score just as clock struck 53. From here on the game promised to be one of the classics of the season, but the referee Mark Clattenberg had other plans.

The first important decision of the game was given when the referee red-carded Chelsea defender Ivanovic for toppling Manchester forward Ashley Young. While the referee was in clear view of the scene that lead to the sending off, Mr Clattenberg did not take into account the momentum in the running direction of the Chelsea defender that was bound to topple Ashley Young. There have been many instances where there have been doubts to send off a defender who denies an attacker a clear chance on goal, but this definitely was not one of the cases, since Ivanovic had already raised his hands over, indicating that he was not at fault even before the whistle was blown. Although it was a soft decision, Chelsea were down to 10-men and had to fight the game with limited resources.

The latest trend in Premier League referees has been to punish players that have been responsible for diving. But Mr Clattenberg went a little too far in the game when he red-carded Fernando Torres accusing him of diving, when everybody in the ground could have seen that there was a a clear contact with Manchester defender Evans. When Fernando was tipped, everyone was of the impression that Evans was the offender here, but people were astonished to learn that the whistle was for Fernando and not Evans. Fernando was shocked to see a red-card coming out of the referee's pocket for this foul of his. From this point on, the entire aura of the game was lost thanks to the referee, who is actually put in place to make sure that things run smoothly during the game.

Impaired Chelsea tried to hang on but the officials were not yet done. Manchester's third goal while "clearly" an offside, but was still given to take the scoreline to 2-3. Van Persie's brilliant effort was parried away by Chelsea keeper Cech to just brush the goal post and fall directly on the path of Manchester player Rafael. When Rafael took the shot, Manchester attacker Javier Hernandez was free in front of the goal with no Chelsea player ahead of him. Now the offside rule says that there need to be a minimum of 2 opposing side players in front of the attacker to term it as an onside, which meant yet another disastrous decision. The match finally ended with a scoreline of 2-3 to Chelsea, but much of the action came from the "Men in Black" and not from someone in Red/Blue.

It is evident that the referees are under a lot of pressure to deliver in these season-defining games, but that does not imply that quality can be compromised in these situations. We have seen from the past that crucial decisions have changed the face of the match and this was the case even in this game. The officials literally killed the game with their poor decisions, although not much can be done now, the Football Association (England) has to make sure that truly qualified and experienced officials must be given charge to officiate critical games like these.

This was Chelsea's first defeat of this Barclays Premier League season but they still stand on top of the table with 22 points, while Manchester teams are both placed at 2nd and 3rd positions with 21 points each.
For their next game, Chelsea travel to Swansea and Manchester United host Arsenal on 03rd November 2012.

Article References:
1. http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/matchday/matches/2012-2013/epl.html/chelsea-vs-man-utd

Image References:
1. http://horyaalka.com/wp-content/themes/blognews/timthumb.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fhoryaalka.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F10%2Fchelsea-vs-man-u.jpg&q=90&w=460&h=260&zc=1
2. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/10/28/article-2223674-15BB8988000005DC-1000_634x372.jpg
3. http://images.football365.com/12/10/800x600/Fernando-Torres-red-card-Chelsea-v-Manchester_2852441.jpg 

UCL 2013: Day 1: Chelsea v/s Juventus: The "Oscar" surrendered at Stamford Bridge

Reigning champions, Chelsea, came on head to head with Juventus to begin their Champions League 2012/2013 campaign at home. The highlight of the game was 21-year old Oscar, who was playing his first Champions League game ever. This prodigy proved his worth in yesterday's match with two dream goals for Chelsea. The game eventually ended in a draw, thanks to a great comeback from resilient Juventus.

After winning the Champions league in their last campaign for the first time, Chelsea were confident ahead of their first game this year. Following from the loss by Atletico Madrid and a draw with QPR, Chelsea had to get back on their feet to continue their dream start to the season. While on the other side of the coin, Juventus were playing their first Champions league game after nearly 2 years and seemed nervous at the start of the game. Juventus manager, Antonio Conte, was given an extension on his ban by 10 more months in August 2012 following his involvement in the match fixing scandal in Italy; thereby bringing on Massimo Carrera as incharge on the sidelines.

Chelsea started strong with swift moves, passes and team pressing, taking Juventus by surprise and putting them on the back foot. Chelsea have developed a lethal combination of Eden Hazard, Oscar, Ramires, Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel in the midfield. But Roberto Di Matteo has not been able to capitalize on Fernando Torres' skills completely. With his gameplay it seems that this forward is more suited for a second striker role which brings in the perspective of missing Didier Drogba - like player, who anchored himself as a strong forward. It yet remains to see if Chelsea's new signing Victor Moses can take on this huge responsibility in the games ahead.

About half an hour in the game, it seemed that the game would end into stalemate. But just as the clock struck 31, Oscar's attempt towards goal was deflected by Juventus defender to fall luckily into the net, thereby giving Chelsea the lead 1-0. Immediately the players ran towards Oscar to congratulate the kid on his effort, this being his first goal ever in the Champions League. Oscar was probably not contented with the greetings from his earlier goal, when he scored a scorcher from just outside the box to stun the visitors and take Chelsea ahead by 2-0. Even a goalkeeper like Gianluigi Buffon was just a spectator for this effort at goal.

Oscar celebrating after scoring two back-to-back goals in his first appearance in Champions league

At this point in time, Stamford Bridge was roaring with Chelsea fans while Juventus fans stood and hoped for something to happen their way. Just 5 minutes later, their prayers were answered when Juventus striker, Arturo Vidal hit a ground shot by his left leg to give Juventus a glimmer of hope to save the match. At half time, the scoreline read 2-1 to Chelsea. 

During the second half, Chelsea were sloppy on the pitch giving away easy possession and inaccurate passes. Although Juventus pressed hard for an equalizer, Chelsea had no plans to surrender their lead to the Italians. It does appear that Roberto has a lot of faith on John Obi Mikel, since he is considered to be the key player as Chelsea's defending mid-fielder. Sending Michael Essien to Real Madrid on a year-long loan was probably not a wise decision for Chelsea, considering the superior capabilities of this player as compared to Mikel.

Just 10 minutes from time, Juventus' subsitute player Quagliarella capitalized on the superb through ball to score the much awaited equalizer for them. After this goal, repeated attempts from both the sides were futile to end the game in a draw.

Chelsea failed to start the Champions league campaign with a win since 2007, but considering the group they are placed in, it should not be much of a problem for them to progress to the next stage. Chelsea have to start defending their lead in the game if they aim to secure silver ware this season and retain this title. Chelsea will face new entrants, Norsjaelland, when they travel to Denmark on Tuesday, 02nd October 2012 for their next group game.

Article references:
1. UEFA Champions League 2013  - Chelsea - Juventus; http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2013/matches/round=2000347/match=2009489/index.html
2. Antonio Conte has 10-month ban upheld by tribunal; http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19079604
3. Juventus' Antonio Conte gets 10-month ban in connection with match-fixing; http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/aug/10/antonio-conte-juventus-match-fixing-banned
4. Chelsea 2 Juventus 2: Italians blast back to knock Oscar off centre stage; http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2205770/Chelsea-2-Juventus-2-Oscars-limelight-stolen-late-equaliser.html

Image references:
1. Reuters/Eddie Koegh; http://news.yahoo.com/photos/entertainment-slideshow/chelseas-oscar-celebrates-scoring-goal-against-juventus-during-photo-193824798.html

BPL 2013: Day 1: Wigan - Chelsea: Eden proves Hazard-ous for the Latics

Premier League 2012-2013

As curtains were raised to mark the beginning of a new Barclays Premier League season at the JJB stadium for both Wigan Athletic and Chelsea, it was the reigning European champions that came out with all the three points on the first day of the league with early strikes. Although, Wigan showed signs of a fightback, they could not capitalise on the chances they had in the game to change the result. On the other hand, Chelsea showed strong performance in all the three departments of the game with newly induced vigour with their new signings over the summer in the lights of Eden Hazard and Oscar.

Wigan - Chelsea at JJB stadium, 19th August 2012

Wigan suffered huge blows early in the game when Chelsea struck twice within the first 6 minutes of the game. Eden Hazard proved to be the talisman for both the goals by assisting one and earning a penalty for the other. One aspect that Roberto Di Matteo has definitely worked on during the summer break is the Counter-attacking. This facet of Chelsea's football was at its best when Eden Hazard received the ball from the defence and gave us a glimpse of his skills when he displayed a wonderful 180 degree to fool the Wigan defender. After his first touch, he passed the ball towards Branislav Ivanovic, who was sprinting down the right flank with literally no resistance from the Wigan defence. Ivanovic struck the ball hard in the net to take Chelsea ahead in the second minute of the game.
Eden Hazard was again under the spotlight when he was tackled by the Wigan defender in the Wigan box to earn Chelsea a penalty, just four minutes since the first goal was scored. Eden Hazard showed resilience, strength and sharp skills to earn the penalty. Chelsea's veteran, Frank Lampard, stepped up to take the penalty and successfully delivered to go up 2-0 in the game. Chelsea fans roared anthems since they were exposed to a Chelsea side that they most dearly wanted to see.
After Chelsea scored the second goal, Chelsea began to sit back a little while allowing Wigan space and time to get their attacks organised. During this time, although Wigan seemed to be more active in the attacking front, there were bits and pieces of Chelsea's game-play that need to be highlighted here, which could prove highly beneficial for Chelsea in the long run.

1. Mata - Hazard combination
Juan Mata paired with up Eden Hazard during the entire game to display the potential they have to make Chelsea strong in the flanks. Short instances of swift passing, one-to-one passing, wide play and crossing from both the ends was displayed by both the players in combination. Both these players could prove to be beneficial for Chelsea so as to strengthen the mid-field.

2. Ivanovic - Cole combination
A vintage combination of two players, Branislav Ivanovic and Ashley Cole, as wing backs continued to display positive signs of improving Chelsea defence and take it to the next level.

3. The Torres struggle
After having a successful Euro 2012, Fernando Torres came out with confidence and energy to prove his 50 million pound worth as a Chelsea player. Although he has been criticized a lot during his Chelsea tenure, he has always showed high-levels of dedication towards the game. His luck did not favour him when he missed an opportunity to score a goal, when the ball was cleared off the line by the Wigan defender.

4. Oscar winning decision
Roman Abramovich's decision of buying Oscar will certainly pay off for Chelsea in the near future with the promise that he showed during the game. One example of his prowess was seen when passed a through-ball to Ivanovic, only to be cleared by the Wigan defender.

5. Strong Bench
Having a strong bench of players, is something new that Chelsea has seen over the past few years. Chelsea now has strong back-up to overcome any kind of shortcomings during the tenure of the season.

With other teams trying to strengthen their squads, Chelsea definitely have gone in the right direction to do the same. It yet remains to be seen if they add or subtract their team of players before the transfer window closes on 31st August 2012. Chelsea will have to work on some aspects of the game, like concentration, focus and coordination, before their next game against Reading on 22nd August 2012, at home.

Image reference: http://cdn.whatculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/premierleaguelogo.jpg; http://www.chelseaitalia.com/images/stories/stagione2012-2013/biglietti/20120818-biglietto-wigan-chelsea-presentazione.jpg
Article reference: http://www.chelseafc.com/; http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/2012/08/19/bpl_sunday_roundup_recap/

Chelsea's search for European glory ends in Munich

Chelsea embraced European Glory for the first time in the history of Champions League on 19th May 2012 after beating Bayern Munich in their own turf at Allianz Arena, Munich. Chelsea were in pursuit of this cup since Roman Abramovich took over as the owner of the club in 2004. Being a Chelsea fan, this cup literally meant everything to the club since it was the only one missing in Chelsea's cabinet. The match ended in a draw after extra time and was won in the penalties with a scoreline of 4-3 favoring Chelsea.
A perfect metaphor to comprehend this game comes from a rather notorious reference. Its called as 'Strangling to Death' as many would understand it. Roberto Di Matteo (Chelsea manager) put on a very clever squad in order to counteract the wing play from Bayern's players Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery. Instead of going for an extra attacker, Roberto went for an extra defender that allowed Chelsea to watch the attacks from Bayern. As expected, Bayern started firing towards the goal right from the very start. Chelsea had to sit back and neutralize any attacks coming from Bayern, just as they did it in the semi-finals against Barcelona. Bayern failed to capitalize on any of their chances in the first half and their efforts should be deemed as 'poor'; considering the fact that both the teams went into half time with a score of 0-0. Chelsea had a couple of notable chances in the first half but even they could not put the ball past the net.
Chelsea's confidence and Bayern's frustration increased as time passed by. Clearly, time was of essence to both the teams. As second half passed by, all of the Bayern's efforts were futile and they were just not able to find a crack in Chelsea's defense. Chelsea had already shown signs of their resilient defending against Barcelona and they were repeating the same performance in this game as well. Ashley Cole (Chelsea player) needs a mention here for his performance because of his marvelous defensive abilities and sharp awareness of the game around him. Roberto's gamble of putting Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea player) as an additional defender in the team was already visible in the scoreline which stood at 0-0 as the clock ticked past 70 minutes. Ryan perfectly marked Philipp Lahm (Bayern player) to cancel out his right wing runs throughout the match. Ryan was substituted by Roberto to bring on Flourent Malouda in the 73rd minute of the game to change things around.
Bayern's endeavour for goal was finally paid off in the 83rd minute of the match when Thomas Muller (Bayern player) headed the ball to net it past Petr Cech (Chelsea goalkeeper). Bayern were ecstatic since they only had a few minutes to survive the match and hold on to the lead. Chelsea's emotions were marred by the defeat they had suffered against Manchester United in the 2008 campaign. It all seemed lost of Chelsea at the moment and the dreaded thought of competing for the cup next time started flowing through Chelsea supporters.
Chelsea's evergreen talisman Didier Drogba had other thoughts when he scored the goal in the dying 88th minute of the match to head the ball in the net from a Juan Mata (Chelsea player) corner. Chelsea's hopes were rekindled and their quest for the enchanted cup was still 'on'. Bayern were heart-broken as they almost had one hand on the cup. Bayern players were visibly sad and gloomy on the pitch as they had just given away a precious lead that could have won them the cup. After seeing the Chelsea goal, all the players had embraced the fact that they had to slog it for 30 more minutes to win the cup. As it ended, after full time the score recorded was 1-1 to both the teams.
Bayern were emotionally tired and that was reflected in their physical semblance, whereas Chelsea on the other hand looked fresh and raring to go after recently having scored the goal to snatch the match back from the Germans. There were clear signs of fatigue in both camps with the poor quality of passing seen during the extra time. Bayern had a wonderful opportunity to seal the match when they were awarded a penalty following a stupid tackle by Didier Drogba on Frank Ribery in the box. Arjen Robben stepped up to take this golden opportunity but Cech dogded this penalty to deny Bayern the win yet again. It all seemed to Chelsea's way at this point in the match with all the missed chances and missed penalty. Finally, after a couple of substitutions from both sides, the match ended as 1-1 draw after extra time.
It was time for penalties and Chelsea seemed more nervous because they had lost the cup back in 2008 at this same stage. Apparently Bayern had never lost a match in Champions League in the penalty stage but the scars of conceding the lead and missing the earlier penalty were still afresh in the players mind. Readers are directed to this video to watch the penalties as they happened in the match.

Champions League Final 2011/2012: Penalties

As soon as Didier Drogba scored the winning penalty, Chelsea crowd erupted as they had just witnessed history in the making that would be written forever after today. Weeping in tears of joy, Chelsea fans finally rejoiced the moment they had been waiting for the past 8 years. Bayern players were devastated as started to wonder it could have been them today. All the players were handed the medal of honor and Chelsea players were handed the Champions League Cup that had Chelsea etched on it for the very first time.

Chelsea FC: Champions League 2011/2012 Winners

 It was a night where the 'luck charm' was in the hands of Chelsea and with this, they accomplished the unthinkable.Chelsea's performance in the Champions League has not been short of a fairy tale. It is not sure as where Chelsea go on from here, but one thing is for sure that because of this victory they will be competing for this cup yet again next year. There have been rumors that Didier Drogba, who literally won Chelsea the trophy !, could be leaving Chelsea to join another team. Whatever the future beholds for him, he will sorely be missed here in Chelsea for his flair, strength, motivation and performance. It is also not quite surely if Roberto will be given a permanent role as a Chelsea manager, but if he is, he would definitely be the right person to take up this role at this time. Roman Abramovich can finally add the much awaited feather in his cap since he took over Chelsea FC.
As we come to the close of yet another thrilling football season, it does not get mentioned enough that 'Football never stops amazing'. As players head off for a summer packed with football, we now await to see breath-taking performances at the national level in EURO 2012 campaign which starts from 8th June 2012.


Article Sources:
http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2012/matches/live/day=13/session=1/match=2007693/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_F.C._in_European_football
http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2012/matches/round=2000267/match=2007693/postmatch/report/index.html#shoot+ends+chelseas+long+wait+glory
Image Source:
Michaela Rehle/REUTERS; http://www.sportlive.co.za/incoming/2012/05/20/chelsea-champions-league-final.jpg/ALTERNATES/crop_630x400/Chelsea+Champions+League+final.jpg

Premier League season 2011/2012 : Chelsea's perspective

Premier League fans were witness to one of the greatest sporting drama of all times on the last day of the league when Manchester City scored twice in the last 5 minutes to win the league in almost 44 years to oust their neighbors Manchester United. While that happened, Chelsea wrapped up their season with a win by a margin of 2-1 over relegated Blackburn Rovers. Chelsea managed to finish 6th in the league and football pundits term this as 'Chelsea worst league finish in a decade'. We now look back at the defining moments of Chelsea's Premier league campaign this year.

The Start: Chelsea were looking confident at the start of the season with the appointment of a new manager Andre Villas Boas (AVB). Having won a number of accolades, AVB was pitched to be the right person at the start of the season to lead Chelsea to yet another Premier league football glory. Chelsea had a scrappy start with a draw against Stoke City away from home. Soon after that, Chelsea consecutively won 3 matches in a row beating West Bromwich Albion, Norwich City and Sunderland. 

First Loss: Chelsea suffered its first loss of the season to the title holders, Manchester United by a margin of 3-1 while playing away. Fernando Torres's (Chelsea striker) miss in the match is still considered to be the 'miss of the season' when he failed to net the ball that could have changed the face of the match.

Home Losses against Arsenal and Liverpool: Chelsea's hopes of winning the title received a big punch when they lost against two strong oppositions at home, viz. Arsenal and Liverpool. Chelsea lost to Arsenal by a margin of 3-5, thanks to a wonderful hat-trick by Robin van Persie (Arsenal). A late goal by Glen Johnson (Liverpool) cost them the Liverpool match by a margin of 1-2. 

Inconsistency: Things were looking shady for Chelsea by the end of November 2011 after the consecutive losses, but Chelsea pulled up their socks to secure three consecutive wins against Newcastle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City. A win against Manchester City was a big morale boost to the players and the manager as they re-started believing that they could pull something off in the league. Complacency crept in the Chelsea dressing room after this crucial win and they drew the next three matches, which brought them back to square-one.

End of the year 2011: Chelsea failed to capitalize the home advantage on the last day of the year 2011 when they faced Aston Villa and lost 1-3 to them. By this time people and pundits had started doubting AVB as the right manager to lead the Chelsea squad. As Chelsea moved into the new year, they had to forget the previous abysmal performances and make a fresh start.

The New Year 2012: Chelsea started the new year strongly with two wins and a draw. This confidence was oozing when they faced Manchester United at home and were leading 3-0 which probably seemed to be Chelsea's biggest win of the season. But sloppy Chelsea defense and determined United side were the major reasons for the match to end in a draw 3-3. 

Andre Villas Boas sacked: AVB was sacked on 5th March 2012 after dismal performances by the Chelsea team in the previous months. Recent losses at Everton and West Bromwich Albion were the main reason for his exit. The owner of Chelsea FC, Roman Abramovich, said he had high confidence in AVB but could not afford to see Chelsea performing badly in the season. After AVB left, Roberto di Matteo took over as the caretaker manager. 

Roberto di Matteo's reign: Since Roberto took over as caretaker manager at Chelsea, the team has had respectable statistics as compared to AVB's rule. Out of the 11 matches, Chelsea have lost 3, won 4, drawn 4. During this time Chelsea also managed to pull-off miracles in the Champions League and clinched the FA Cup against Liverpool that added another silverware in Chelsea's bag. 

Chelsea FC: FA Cup winners 2011/2012

Roberto's introduction as Chelsea manager in mid-March helped Chelsea get through a tough phase in its season. Crucial contributions by veterans along with the new-comers in the Chelsea team has helped them see off this season.Chelsea managed to finished 6th in the league, which does seem applause-able after everything the team has been through. Strong performances by teams like Tottenham Hotspurs and Newcastle United, who stand above Chelsea in the table, is also one of the reasons for Chelsea's poor finish in the league. Chelsea have to start converting the draws into wins, losses into draws in the next season if they are to be even considered as title contenders and salvage anything in the next season. Chelsea do not have an option to lose in the Champions League final on 19th May 2012 because if they do, they will not only lose the cup this year but also lose out on competing for the cup next year considering the fact that they could not finish in the top four in this year's league.

Roberto promises to be a very confident and intelligent manager for Chelsea but his leadership will be truly tested when Chelsea will go against Bayern Munich in the finals of Champions League 2011/2012. A win in this match would be a cue to Roberto's appointment as a full-time coach for Chelsea in the years to come. With all the other players gearing up for EURO 2012, Chelsea's men have to first engrave their name on the Champions League title on 19th May 2012 before heading off to EURO 2012.  

Barclays Premier League 2011/2012: Final Standings

Article Sources:

http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/matchday/results.html?paramClubId=4

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/FixturesAndResults/0,,10268,00.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17250464

Image Sources:

http://www.iphonebrella.com/thumbnails/large_chelsea_fc_62849.jpeg

http://bluechampions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Chelsea-FA-Cup-2012-600x369.jpg

http://www.signsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Premier-League-2012-full-table.png