Season: 2019–20

Notes

Frank Lampard returned as head coach on 4 July 2019, signing a three-year contract and taking charge of a Chelsea side beginning a new chapter without Eden Hazard. With a transfer ban in place that summer, academy graduates helped define the season: Abraham led the line, Mount became a regular and James and Tomori took important steps. Pulisic added another young attacking talent. There would be no trophy, but fourth place and an FA Cup final were substantial achievements in a campaign interrupted by a global pandemic and stretched all the way into August. Chelsea finished fourth with 66 points: 20 wins, six draws and 12 defeats, goals 69–54 and a +15 difference. Manchester United also had 66 points but finished above Chelsea on goal difference. At home the record was 11–3–5, goals 30–16; away it was 9–3–7, goals 39–38. Abraham scored 15 league goals and 18 overall, all his other goals coming in the Champions League. Willian and Pulisic scored 11 overall each, Giroud ten and Mount eight. There was attacking promise, but the 54 league goals conceded showed how much work remained without the ball. The opening 4–0 defeat at Manchester United was a harsh introduction, yet the young attack soon gave supporters reasons to believe. Abraham scored twice in Lampard’s first league win, 3–2 at Norwich, and a hat-trick in the 5–2 victory at Wolves. Pulisic hit a hat-trick in the 4–2 win at Burnley. December brought a league win at each of Tottenham and Arsenal, and a 4–0 home victory over Everton on 8 March suggested the team was finding its stride. Then football stopped. The Premier League suspended the season on 13 March because of COVID-19 and resumed on 17 June behind closed doors. Chelsea returned on 21 June with a 2–1 win at Aston Villa. The restart brought a demanding race for Champions League places. Pulisic and Willian’s penalty beat Manchester City 2–1 at the Bridge on 25 June, a result that also confirmed Liverpool as champions. Giroud’s goals became vital down the stretch, although defeats at Sheffield United and Liverpool kept the pressure on. On 26 July, Mount’s free-kick and Giroud’s finish in first-half stoppage time secured a 2–0 home win over Wolves and fourth place. The stands were empty. The 15 home league matches played before the suspension had averaged 40,563 spectators; the remaining four were played behind closed doors. That crowd figure belongs to the open-gate matches, not to all 19 home league games. The FA Cup took Chelsea to an empty Wembley. Nottingham Forest were beaten 2–0, Hull 2–1 and Liverpool 2–0, with Willian and Barkley scoring against the league leaders on 3 March. After the restart, Barkley’s goal won the quarter-final at Leicester 1–0 on 28 June. Giroud, Mount and a Maguire own goal then helped beat Manchester United 3–1 in the semi-final on 19 July. Arsenal awaited on 1 August. Pulisic finished a move involving Mount and Giroud in the fifth minute, but Aubameyang equalised from the spot and scored again after the break. Injuries forced Azpilicueta and Pulisic off, and Kovačić was sent off for a second yellow. The 2–1 defeat left Lampard without a first trophy as Chelsea coach, despite an encouraging start to the final. Europe supplied both exhilaration and a measure of the distance to the elite. Chelsea finished second in Champions League Group H with 11 points, behind Valencia on the head-to-head record. Lille were beaten 2–1 in both matches, Batshuayi scored the winner in a 1–0 away victory at Ajax and the return at the Bridge became a breathless 4–4 draw after Chelsea had trailed 4–1. James scored the equaliser against an Ajax side reduced to nine men. Bayern Munich were a different proposition in the last 16: 3–0 at the Bridge on 25 February, then 4–1 in Munich on 8 August, Abraham scoring Chelsea’s reply. The 7–1 aggregate defeat was a sobering end to a season that had lasted almost a year. The League Cup ended in the fourth round. Grimsby were beaten 7–1 at home on 25 September, with James among the scorers on his debut, before Manchester United won 2–1 at the Bridge on 30 October, Batshuayi replying between Rashford’s goals. Earlier, the UEFA Super Cup in Istanbul on 14 August had finished 2–2 after extra time against Liverpool. Giroud opened the scoring, Mané struck twice and Jorginho’s penalty restored parity. Liverpool won the shoot-out 5–4 when Adrián saved Abraham’s final kick. The silverware had stayed out of reach, but the bond between Lampard, the emerging players and the supporters had given Chelsea a new story to follow — even when those supporters had to watch from home.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chelsea_F.C._seasons
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019%E2%80%9320_Chelsea_F.C._season
• https://www.fchd.info/CHELSEA.HTM
• https://www.bounder.friardale.co.uk/Summaries/2019.htm
• https://www.bounder.friardale.co.uk/Results/2019.htm
• https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/archive/eng/aveeng2020.htm
• https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/frank-lampard-returns-to-chelsea
• https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/chelsea-2019-20--post-season-briefing
• https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/1682374
• https://www.thefa.com/news/2020/aug/01/heads-up-fa-cup-final-arsenal-chelsea-match-report-010820
• https://www.wolves.co.uk/news/mens-first-team/20200726-chelsea-2-0-wolves-match-report/
• https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0260-101599d04d8b-ab50b00312ef-1000--bayern-4-1-chelsea-agg-7-1-lewandowski-at-the-double/
• https://www.uefa.com/uefasupercup/history/2019/