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The 2019-20 season has been a rollercoaster journey for Chelsea fans after a year full of ups and downs. From the sadness of losing talisman Eden Hazard to the joy of seeing club legend Frank Lampard take charge as the head coach, it has been a campaign full of contrasting emotions for Chelsea fans.
On the pitch, it has hardly been smooth sailing for the Blues as they have encountered various roadblocks since August. At the moment, they have only 49 points from 28 matches in the Premier League which is hardly good enough for a club which sets as high standards as them. Further, Lampard's side have faced some embarrassing results such as the opening week 4-0 defeat to Manchester United, home defeats to West Ham, Bournemouth, and Southampton or the humiliation to Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.
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However, there have been plenty of things to cheer about. For the first since Roman Abramovich's takeover, the Stamford Bridge faithful have got to see their academy graduates get a consistent opportunity in the first team. In the wake of the FIFA-imposed transfer ban, Lampard has put his trust in the likes of Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Fikiyo Tomori, and Billy Gilmour to inject fresh energy into the team. More often than not, the youngsters have taken their chances and shown they belong at this level
Further, there have various bright moments on the pitch too. Despite the inconsistent form, Chelsea have maintained a place in the top-four for the majority of the season. These have made possible due to some memorable performances by Lampard's side. Here is a look at the three best results the Blues have achieved this season.
#3 Chelsea 2-0 Liverpool (FA Cup)
In the first week of March, the Blues took on league leaders Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Jurgen Klopp's side, having dropped just five points in the league, were a formidable opposition to face for the eight-time champions. The odds were completely stacked against Chelsea as coming into the game they were without the services Abraham, Hudson Odoi, Christian Pulisic, N'Golo Kante, and Andreas Christensen due to injuries with Mateo Kovacic and Willian having to come off during the game due to fitness concerns.
Despite the adverse situation, the Blues produced one of their finest performances of the season at home. From the start, Chelsea controlled the game and dominated the Merseyside outfit. A goal from Willian in the first half and a superb solo effort from Ross Barkley in the second was enough to seal qualification for Lampard's side. The fact that they managed to end Liverpool's dream of winning a treble bought additional joy to fans at SW6.
Moreover, it was the man-of-the-match of performance of 18-year-old Bily Gilmour that stole the attention. The youngster, in only his third start for the club, dominated the midfield and looked a veteran against the European Champions. Similarly, the world's most expensive goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga's impressive comeback after a spell on the sidelines was another big silver lining for Chelsea from a memorable night.
#2 Chelsea 4-4 Ajax (Champions League group stage)
Having suffered a 1-0 defeat to Valencia on the opening matchday of the Champions League, Chelsea's hopes of qualification into the knockouts were hanging by a thread. It took an impressive away win in Lille to get the Blues back on track with a double-header against the previous year's semi-finalist Ajax approaching. At the Johan Cryuff Arena, Lampard's side produced an impressive performance and were rewarded as Michy Batshuayi slammed in a late winner to seal all three points for the Blues.
This result left Chelsea in a favorable position going into the reverse tie at home against the Dutch opposition. However, Eric Ten Hang's outfit stormed into a huge 4-1 lead within 55 minutes. When all seemed over for the Blues, Cesar Azpilicueta burst forward and nicked a goal to get his side back into the game. Shortly after, the Blues were awarded a penalty in a move that saw both Ajax center-backs Daley Blind and Joel Veltman get a red card. Italian international Jorginho was calm as ever as he scored his second of the match from the spot.
Chelsea exploited the extra-man advantage as substitute Reece James fired in the equalizer in the 74th minute to evoke massive celebrations across Stamford Bridge. The home crowd was almost sent into ecstasy as Cesar Azpilicueta scored another but the joy was short-lived as VAR disallowed the goal and the game ended with both teams sharing the points.
While the 2012 Champions missed a big opportunity to all but seal qualification into the game was a huge step forward in Frank Lampard's transformation of the side. It exhibited that the young side had the heart to fight in tough situations, the character to turn any result around, and the resilience to not crumble when things are going against them.
#1 Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea (Premier League)
Chelsea's last game of the 2010s is one that is going to live long in the memory of the Stamford Bridge faithful. In what was Mikel Artera's first home game as Arsenal head coach, Chelsea faced a serious challenge at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners started the game extremely positively and capitalized on the momentum as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave them the lead in the 13th minute. Until the half an hour mark, Chelsea barely had a footing in the game as the hosts continued to exert dominance. However, a tactical switch from Frank Lampard to change the formation from 3-4-3 to 4-3-3 by substituting Jorginho for Emerson completely changed the dynamics of the game.
Arteta failed to react to the change as Chelsea grew in confidence and slowly gained control over possession. However, they had to wait until the 83rd minute when an error from goalkeeper Bernd Leno allowed Jorginho an easy tap-in. Only four minutes later, the Blues launched a rapid counter as Willian set up Tammy Abraham to score the winner and seal the three points for the Blues to complete a dramatic comeback.
Over two consecutive weekends, Lampard's side defeated fierce local rivals and contenders for Champions League spots Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal away from home. Quite evidently, there could not have been a better ending to 2019 for Chelsea fans than the one they were able to produce in North London.
