Is there still a chance for Chelsea to win a trophy in the 2022-23 season? Thin, very thin to be very honest for the Chelsea fans. This season, Chelsea is competing in the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League. But it seems, Chelsea will find it difficult to add to the trophy in the trophy cabinet this season. We detail one by one how Chelsea looks in each of these events. Hopefully there is still hope for just one trophy.
League Cup: As one of seven Premier League clubs competing in European clubs, Chelsea’s participation in the League Cup starts from the third round. The opponent, no kidding. Manchester City. Being the first domestic trophy event for manager Graham Potter with Chelsea, The Blues lost 0-2 to Manchester City on 9 November 2022, playing at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester. Thus, there is no longer a chance for Chelsea to win the League Cup trophy, the last trophy they won in 2014-15. At that time, Chelsea was handled by Jose Mourinho.
FA Cup: Chelsea again had to meet by bad fate by meeting Manchester City in the third round of the FA Cup. Chelsea and City are directly in the 3rd round, due to their status as Premier League clubs. Worse than the League Cup, Chelsea were battered, losing 0-4 to City on 8 January this year. Again, Chelsea got the draw to play at home, not at Stamford Bridge. So, forget the FA Cup this season. Chelsea last won the FA Cup in 2017-18, under Antonio Conte.
Premier League: After playing 20 matches, Chelsea can only be ranked 10th, far from the European zone. Since being appointed as Chelsea manager on September 8 2022, Graham Potter has overseen 14 Chelsea matches in the Premier League, with only five wins, four draws and five defeats. In total, when combined with the results from the direction of Thomas Tuchel, the manager before Potter, Chelsea have only won eight times, drawn five times and lost seven times. Chelsea’s current points tally is 29.
There are still 18 matches in the Premier League. If you want to be in the European zone, at worst in the Europa League, namely in 5th place, then Chelsea must be able to win as much as possible from the remaining 18 matches. To break into the top four? So Chelsea must be able to win in all 18 matches to be sure. If the win continues until the end of the season, then Chelsea’s total points will be 83. Just waiting to see if there are clubs already in the European zone who fall out. To become Premier League champions? Well, maybe next season.
Champions League: Potter attended the first match in his career in the Champions League with Chelsea on September 14, 2022. At that time, Chelsea hosted Red Bull Salzburg with a final result of 1-1. At that time, the London sky suddenly became gloomy, the potential for Chelsea to be eliminated from the Champions League began to loom. Apparently, in the remaining four matches in Group E, Chelsea performed brilliantly. Mason Mount and friends beat AC Milan home and away, then won at home to RB Salzburg, and won on the last matchday 2-1 over Dinamo Zagreb in London. Chelsea won Group E.
In the Round of 16, Chelsea had to meet one of the German giants, the club that was coached by Thomas Tuchel, Borussia Dortmund. Chelsea will first visit Dortmund’s headquarters, Signal Iduna Park, on 15 February 2023, with the second leg being played on 7 March in London.
Can the Champions League be Chelsea’s last hope to continue the trophy tradition this season? Just remember when Chelsea first won the Champions League trophy in 2012. At that time, Chelsea was being handled by caretaker manager, Roberto Di Matteo, who replaced Carlo Ancelotti. This season, Chelsea is also in turmoil, but with a permanent manager.
Maybe the chaos experienced by Chelsea can be a platform to win the Champions League trophy. In addition, winning the Champions League this season could be the only way for Chelsea to compete in Europe next season. Except, if they can secure it by being in the European zone via the Premier League. It will be interesting to see whether Chelsea can earns any trophies this season. Their fans would be waiting for this moment for sure after negative trends early of the season.
ASL
