True Blues — Chelsea FC
ΕΛ

Season: 2013–14

Premier League

League

José Mourinho came home on 3 June 2013, returning on a four-year contract to a club that had changed greatly since his first spell.

Division
Premier League (Tier 1)
Manager
José Mourinho
Top scorer (league)
Eden Hazard (14)
Top scorer (all comps)
Eden Hazard (17)
Avg. league attendance
41,482

Cups & Europe

FA Cup
Round 5
League Cup
Quarter-finals
Europe
European Cup / Champions League: Semi-finals
Other
UEFA Super Cup: Runners-up

Notes

José Mourinho came home on 3 June 2013, returning on a four-year contract to a club that had changed greatly since his first spell. There would be no trophy in 2013–14, but Chelsea were contenders again: third in the Premier League and one tie short of another Champions League final. Willian, André Schürrle and Samuel Eto’o added new attacking options, while Nemanja Matić returned in January. Eden Hazard supplied the sparkle and César Azpilicueta became a dependable presence at left-back. It was a season of enormous wins, frustrating slips and a growing sense that another title challenge was taking shape. Chelsea finished with 82 points, four behind champions Manchester City: 25 wins, seven draws and six defeats, goals 71–27 and a +44 difference. The league’s strongest defence conceded just 27. At home the record was 15–3–1, goals 43–11; away it was 10–4–5, goals 28–16. Hazard led the scoring with 14 league goals and 17 in all competitions, including a hat-trick in the 3–0 home win over Newcastle on 8 February. His two goals in the wild 4–3 win at Sunderland showed him at his most elusive. Chelsea’s Player of the Year and the PFA Young Player of the Year, he was becoming the player opponents feared most. Eto’o finished with 12 goals overall, Oscar and Torres with 11 each. The big occasions brought some of the loudest roars of the season. Torres’s late winner beat Manchester City 2–1 at the Bridge on 27 October. Eto’o struck a hat-trick in the 3–1 home win over Manchester United on 19 January, and Ivanović’s fierce finish earned a 1–0 win at City on 3 February. Tottenham were beaten 4–0, then Arsenal 6–0 on 22 March, with goals from Eto’o, Schürrle, Hazard, Oscar twice and Salah. But defeats at Aston Villa and Crystal Palace in March cut into the title challenge. Sunderland’s 2–1 win at the Bridge on 19 April ended Mourinho’s 77-match unbeaten home Premier League run. Eight days later Ba seized on Gerrard’s slip at Anfield and Willian finished a late break for a 2–0 win over Liverpool, yet the subsequent 0–0 at home to Norwich left the trophy beyond reach. A 2–1 win at Cardiff closed the campaign on 11 May. Europe began awkwardly with a 2–1 home defeat by Basel, who also won the return 1–0. Chelsea nevertheless topped Group E with 12 points, beating Schalke 3–0 both home and away and Steaua Bucharest 4–0 away and 1–0 at home. The last 16 brought a reunion with Didier Drogba at Galatasaray: Torres scored in a 1–1 away draw on 26 February, before Eto’o and Cahill secured a 2–0 home win on 18 March, 3–1 on aggregate. Paris Saint-Germain then won the first quarter-final leg 3–1 on 2 April, leaving Hazard’s penalty as a lifeline. The Bridge answered on 8 April. Schürrle came off the bench for the injured Hazard and opened the scoring; later he and Oscar both hit the woodwork. With time running out, Ba stretched to turn the ball home in the 87th minute. Mourinho charged down the touchline, the ground erupted, and the 2–0 win meant 3–3 on aggregate with Chelsea through on away goals. Atlético Madrid proved one hurdle too many. A 0–0 away draw on 22 April kept the tie alive, but after Torres put Chelsea ahead at home on 30 April, Adrián equalised before half-time. Diego Costa’s penalty and Arda Turan’s goal made it 3–1 to Atlético on the night and overall. The final would have to wait. The FA Cup ended in the fifth round: Derby County were beaten 2–0 away on 5 January and Stoke 1–0 at home on 26 January through Oscar’s free-kick, before Manchester City won 2–0 at the Etihad on 15 February. The League Cup ended at the quarter-final stage. Wins of 2–0 at Swindon and Arsenal led to Sunderland on 17 December. Chelsea took the lead just after half-time, but Borini’s late equaliser forced extra time and Ki Sung-yueng struck the 118th-minute winner for 2–1. There was no domestic cup return to Wembley. The UEFA Super Cup had offered an early chance of silverware in Prague on 30 August. Torres put Chelsea ahead against Bayern, Ribéry equalised, and Ramires’s second yellow left ten men to face extra time. Hazard still found a way to make it 2–1, only for Javi Martínez to level at the very end. Bayern won the shoot-out 5–4 after the 2–2 draw, Neuer saving Lukaku’s final kick. It was a painful echo of Munich with the outcome reversed. Across the league campaign, home crowds averaged 41,482, peaking at 41,623 against West Brom and falling no lower than 41,111 against Swansea. No cup came home, but the wins over the strongest rivals and that unforgettable Paris comeback gave the Bridge plenty to believe in.

Kits

Home
Away
Third

Mourinho's return.

Illustration from hex colours (not official kit photography).

On this day (related years)

All On this day →

History

Eras, trophies, and great matches in the History section.

Explore history →

Sources

← Back to season archive