After a successful 2018/19 season that saw them lift the Europa League trophy and land themselves in third position in the league, Chelsea had somewhat of a rough ride on the way. Any negative effects that may come about due to this turbulence are yet to be seen – a free-scoring pre-season under new boss Frank Lampard suggests that Chelsea should be ready for the return of the Premier League this Saturday.
As mentioned, Chelsea secured Champions League football by finishing third in the league, but winning the Europa League would have got them there anyway. The Blues will be very happy with the outcome of the season given the obstacles that they faced. Maurizio Sarri was far from a settled manager by the end of his year-long tenure, and it can’t have been easy to steer Chelsea to success with the relationship he had with certain players anchoring them down.
Chelsea will now be beginning to see the impact of the transfer ban that hit in February as they have no new talent to propel the team to a title challenge, all the while without the hugely prolific Eden Hazard who has moved to Real Madrid. Can Chelsea legend Frank Lampard successfully take the reigns and make full use of the resources he has available?
The 2018/19 season
Chelsea’s 2018/19 season can undoubtedly be seen as a success. Lifting the Premier League trophy may have been a realistic goal as the season commenced, but this started to become overly ambitious as soon as Manchester City and Liverpool started to show their colours and Antonio Conte’s shadow still loomed over Sarri’s squad. The race for the top four became a separate competition and Chelsea lagged behind rivals Tottenham for the vast majority of the season before pipping them over the last two games of the season.
So Chelsea cemented a Champions League spot after a year-long absence, but winning the Europa League was their biggest achievement last year. The Blues had to beat Arsenal in the final after beating some tough opposition in Frankfurt and Slavia Prague. Sarri’s men thrashed the Gunners 4-1 in the final to claim the illustrious silverware.
Surprisingly, this was all achieved after a season of significant hindrances including the news of an impending transfer ban and feuds between player and manager. Chelsea did well to push on and ultimately win some silverware, which is more than can be said for the other teams who were fighting for the top four.
New additions
Of course, going by the literal meaning of this subheading would result in a blank space in this section. Chelsea have been banned from making any signings until the 2020 Summer transfer window opens, so Frank Lampard will have to make do with the players already at his disposal.
Naturally, Chelsea will want to hold on to as many players as possible, but keeping hold of the unsettled Eden Hazard was always going to be a huge task. His departure remains the only significant bit of transfer business to occur at Chelsea – a move that cost Real Madrid £89 million and cost Chelsea their best player.
However, the Blues will have some new faces to feature this season, these players returning from their loans elsewhere. Christian Pulisic is one such player and the 20-year-old is expected to feature heavily in Lampard’s plans this season, having scored two goals in pre-season. The American international will likely be played in a similar role to that of Hazard before him.
Tammy Abraham is another notable player who has had a fruitful pre-season. The 21-year-old has been granted plenty of starts over the last month and is likely to feature as the first-team striker upfront ahead of Oliver Giroud. Mason Mount has also featured a number of times in Chelsea’s friendly matches, having worked with Lampard at Derby, and he will be an integral part of the coach’s plan to integrate a number of youngsters into the first-team.
The transfer ban is a real test of Lampard’s capabilities in his early managerial career. Perhaps the former Derby manager is the biggest new addition to the club and he seems to be providing a freshness to Chelsea, opting to trust his youth players this season.
Pre-season
As far as pre-season results go, Chelsea have had a relatively successful few matches, beating four of their seven opponents while scoring 18 goals in the process. One of these wins was against Barcelona, who they beat 2-1.
Of course, it’s usually impossible to predict a team’s success based on their pre-season matches, but Lampard seems to be concentrating on getting the most out of his attacking players and overloading the opposition with goals. One thing for sure is that we can expect to see a different Chelsea team to last season.
Key players
Chelsea have a whole generation of youthful players at their disposal, and Lampard will be planning on making use of a handful of them this season. However, there are a couple of established players who will play an essential part in allowing the younger players to flourish.
One of these players is Ross Barkley. The Englishman has had a rough time as Chelsea so far, but it seems the former Everton man is now ready to be a first-team player at the Blues. The 25-year-old has netted in Chelsea’s last four friendly matches and could play a vital role as an attacking pivot in midfield showing his creative flair with a sumptuous delivery to Pedro who finished with a heel flick.
Perhaps Chelsea’s second-best player last year, Pedro is one of those rare players who came to England from abroad and took no time to settle in. Although having recently reached the age of 32 years old, the Spaniard is still performing at the top level and will hope to continue to do so under a new man in charge.
Some of the young talents at Chelsea that have started to gain traction over the last year include Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. We can expect to see the latter feature frequently in the midfield areas, while Hudson-Odoi may be given appearances on a more sporadic basis. The two young players have developed hugely while at Chelsea or on loan at various clubs and they are both individuals to keep an eye on this season.
What’s expected this season?
Top four is certainly the aim for Chelsea this season – Manchester City and Liverpool are seemingly becoming the Premier League’s dominant forces and too far ahead of Chelsea to realistically be mounting a title charge. The competition for the 3rd and 4th places looks to be fierce this year, and there may be little margin for error.
Chelsea’s efforts to grab 3rd place last season were helped out massively by the diminishing form of the other competitors towards the end of the campaign. This may not be the case this time around, as all four teams have been competitive in both the transfer market and in their pre-season matches to some extent.
Achieving 3rd place while also balancing the Champions League may be difficult for Lampard’s team due to their inability to sign new players. However, some new faces recalled from loan mean that Chelsea should have the squad depth to compete in both competitions. Being under the management of such a prestigious former Chelsea player may see Chelsea step into a new era.
Predicted finish – 5th
Lampard has yet to prove himself in the top division but has certainly joined the right club to do so. Losing Hazard may be crucial for the club this season as they look to fill the void. Meanwhile, their competitors have slightly more established attacks and that may be why we see Chelsea fall just short of Champions League football this season.
