Chelsea 2023/24 Premier League Season Review
Chelsea have enjoyed a late-season resurgence to finish 6th in the EPL table this season. After a mixed two-thirds of 2023/24 threatening a disappointing repeat of their previous season when they finished in 12th place, they notched 8 wins since the beginning of March, also winning their last 5 games of the season to qualify for Europe.
Let’s delve into who were the architects of the Blues’ revival in this Chelsea season review.
Individual performances
Cole Palmer has been the main man for Chelsea this season, without a shadow of a doubt.
Coming to Stamford Bridge from Manchester City last summer for a reported fee of £40 million, he has quickly made sure that Guardiola & Co. regret the decision to let him go. Scoring 22 goals and assisting 11 others has landed him the Premier League Young Player of the Season award.
Raheem Sterling also had a good season, with 12 goal contributions (8G, 4A), while Senegalese striker Nicolas Jackson also enjoyed a strong second half of the campaign, notching 14 goals and 5 assists overall.
It was rather their defensive efforts that held Chelsea back, with 63 goals conceded in 38 games, the second-worst such record among teams placed 11th or higher at the end of the season. Also 63 is the number of goals that Chelsea conceded over the first 3 seasons under Jose Mourinho combined.
It can be argued that, despite heavy investments, it was simply the lack of Premier League experience for players like Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile which contributed to this negative record.
Manager’s Challenges
The now-former Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino can feel a bit hard done by, having to leave the club after this late-season improvement. The number of injuries that he and his coaching staff had to contend with during the course of the season had been staggering: 54 different instances leading to 309 total games missed through injury by various players.
Sure, after investments of over £1.5 billion pounds over the last 2 years, the expectations are high, but it is also a fact of football that teams and managers need time to evolve and improve.
Looking Ahead
Once again, Chelsea are looking at a summer of intense activity.
Even after the departures of Pochettino and centre-back Thiago Silva, there are plenty of rumours about comings and goings. But it will be much more important for the Blues’ hierarchy to bring in a new manager, with a proven track record, and give him time.
Due to Manchester United’s triumph in the FA Cup final last night, we now know that Chelsea will be playing in the Europa Conference League next season, which should provide invaluable experience to their young squad.