The Blues have had an eventful season, which started well under the stewardship of Roberto Di Matteo. The Italian was handed the reigns on a permanent basis after guiding the West Londoners to the Champions League title last season. With club legend Didier Drogba departing in the summer, Fernando Torres remained the only out and out striker in the Blues' line up. The main arrivals in the summer were Belgian speedster Eden Hazard, Brazilian playmaker Oscar and promising Spanish right-back Cesar Azpilicueta. All three went on to claim regular starting spots but Marko Marin, who also joined in the summer, failed to make an impression in his first season at the club. Juan Manuel Mata, Ramirez and Frank Lampard returned in midfield with David Luiz, Ashley Cole, Branko Ivanovic and John Terry at the back. Striker Demba Ba would later join from Newcastle in the January transfer window. By then, it was too late for Di Matteo, who was ousted after the Blues had lost their way in the defense of their Champions league title. The season had started auspiciously, with a string of good results helping the Blues into first place early on. The turning point was the controversial defeat to Manchester United at the end of October, which signaled the start of an adverse spell. It culminated in a humbling defeat at Juventus, which put paid to Chelsea’s hopes of defending their Champions league title and meant the Blues became the only defending champions not to make it to the knockout stage. Roman Abrahamovic called upon master tactician Rafa Benitez to the rescue. After a sticky start, not aided by the hostility of the fans and of some senior members of the squad, the Spaniard turned it around for the Blues going into the New Year. They did lose quite disappointingly to Corinthians in the final of the Club World Cup and also came up short in the League Cup, due mainly to a limited squad. Benitez stuck to his rotation policy and kept his faith in zonal marking, which helped Chelsea sign off for the season in third place after a good run of results after Easter. The Spaniard left John Terry on the bench more often than not, preferring to play Branislav Ivanovic and Gary Cahill in central defence with David Luiz in a defensive midfield capacity. Fernando Torres improved throughout the season, particularly after the arrival of Benitez, but remained a far cry from the free-scoring player he was at Liverpool. Ba also left to be desired and will need to prove himself at the top level next season when Jose Mourinho returns. The Blues’ trump card was their strong offensive midfield with Oscar, Lampard, Mata and Ramires putting in great displays. Eden Hazard also impressed in his first season at the club with a goal tally in double figures. A special mention has to go to Lampard, who became the Blues’ all-time top scorer when he bettered Bobby Tamblin’s tally of 202 goals at Aston Villa in the penultimate League game. Apart from the defeat at Manchester City in the FA Cup in Mid April, the Blues didn’t lose any important games in the final two months of the season. Better still, they were able to claim the one trophy that was lacking in their cabinet when they beat Benfica in the final of the Europa League.
