Chelsea: Not a shabby season, despite turmoil and patchy performances

Upon arriving back in England, Chelsea saw off old rivals Leeds 5-1 in the Capital One Cup much to the delight of the travelling Chelsea fans, while Aston Villa were thumped by an incredible eight goals to nil in a league match. In this game, Chelsea had their old swagger back while looking much more assured at the back, Juan Mata was looking even more as impressive as he was last season, and Frank Lampard was looking like his old self. Yet, in the first game of 2013, Benitez decided to rest several key players, including Eden Hazard and Juan Mata as Chelsea missed the chance to go third in a shock 1-0 home defeat to QPR. Inconsistency was again holding Chelsea back.

The 4-0 win away to Stoke was the ideal performance for a team in Chelsea’s position, solid and looking threatening when on the attack. But, in what was becoming a theme throughout the season, Chelsea threw away a 2-0 lead against Southampton who managed a 2-2 draw. A 2-1 win at home to fourth place rivals Arsenal was a boost, but losing to Swansea in the Capital One Cup, losing Hazard for three games for kicking a ballboy, a 2-2 draw away at Reading, a 3-2 loss to Newcastle were further indications of inconsistency holding Chelsea back.

Advancing in the Europa League thanks to a late, great Eden Hazard goal against Sparta Prague showed Chelsea were vulnerable to any team, while a Rafael Benitez rant against the Chelsea fans after a 2-0 FA Cup win against Middlesbrough didn’t help matters.Chelsea met Manchester United for the third time out of five in March in the FA Cup in a truly remarkable encounter. 2-0 down at half time due to goals from nemesis Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney put Chelsea in dire straits, but the introduction of John Obi Mikel gave Chelsea’s attackers a new lease of life in the second half with Ramires, Hazard and Mata bombing forward as Chelsea were unlucky to only leave with a 2-2 draw.

Frank Lampard scored his 200th goal for Chelsea against his former club West Ham in a sublime Chelsea performance with Mata and Hazard again starring. Despite a surprise 2-1 loss away to Southampton, Chelsea entered April in a respectable fourth with a game in hand, while still in the Europa League and FA cup after a sublime Demba Ba streak saw off United in the replay.

A pivotal, albeit not pretty 2-1 win at home to Sunderland meant Chelsea were looking just about good enough for Champions League qualification, but the 2-1 FA Cup semi-final loss to Manchester City was a real blow and meant only the Europa League was within Chelsea’s grasp. A stunning David Luiz strike helped Chelsea to a 3-0 win away to Fulham, but a controversial 2-2 draw at Anfield after Luis Suarez appeared to bite Branislav Ivanovic angered Chelsea who had led twice in the game thanks to goals from Oscar (1-0) and Hazard (2-1).

Seeing off Basel in the Europa League put Chelsea in a European final for consecutive seasons, while wins away to Manchester United and a draw at home to Tottenham put Chelsea on the brink of guaranteeing Champions League football next season. Frank Lampard’s two goals against Aston Villa in a fierce game where both teams had a player sent off, made him Chelsea’s all-time leading goalscorer on 203 goals, coincided with the signing of his new contract.

Then in Amsterdam, a last minute, towering header from Branislav Ivanovic won Chelsea the Europa League in a 2-1 win over the Benfica side that dominated most of the match.

Finishing third and winning the Europa League may not have been the season Chelsea fans dreamed of, but given the managerial upheaval and oh so bleak midwinter, this season didn’t turn out too bad for the Blues.

End of season awards

Player of the season: Juan MataGoal of the season: Oscar’s 2nd vs. Juventus (H)Best performance of the season: vs. Aston Villa (H)Worst performance of the season: vs. Corinthians (N)