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Chelsea had a relatively decent 2021-22 football campaign that witnessed a few overall improvements from Thomas Tuchel's team. The Blues won two trophies and finished third in the league.
The London club were among the highest scoring teams in Europe last season. They surpassed the 100 goal mark, which was a testament to their attacking improvement.
A couple of first-team players also broke their personal best record in a Chelsea shirt. One such player was Mason Mount, who recorded double-digit goals and assists.
Other players such as Reece James and Kai Havertz also had one of their personal best seasons as they recorded 16 and 18 goal contributions respectively.
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Despite the huge individual success recorded by some Blues players, some didn't really improve as they dropped form last season. This article will thus be taking a look at some Blues players who didn’t really perform up to their expected standards during the 2021-22 season.
#4 Edouard Mendy
The Senegalese shot stopper wasn't really invincible in front of goal last season, as he looked shaky on a couple of occasions.
Recall that Edouard Mendy was one of the bedrocks of Chelsea's resilient defense during the 2020-21 campaign which saw them conquer Europe.
Mendy was even dubbed "Mr Cleanshets" by most Blues fans, during to his impressive record in front of goal. His form even saw him scoop the UEFA 'Goalkeeper of the Year' award.
However, that wasn't really the case last season as he wasn't able to replicate such dominance in front of goal for the Blues. While Chelsea's defensive line may have somewhat contributed to Mendy's drop in performances last season, he also lacked that aura around him.
Mendy conceded a combined total of 36 goals in all competitions during the 2021-22 season, which was significantly more than he did in the previous campaign (30).
He also couldn't match his 2020-21 tally of 25 clean sheets, as he kept a combined total of 23, last season in all competitions.
#3 N'Golo Kante
There were serious question marks about the fitness level of Chelsea midfield general N'Golo Kante during the 2021-22 season.
The French midfielder found it hard to play a long streak of consecutive games for the Blues without picking up a knock. While many may blame injuries for Kante's lack of consistency in the Chelsea team, the player also lacked his commanding presence in games.
Kante is widely known as one of the few footballers who singlehandedly dictates the tempo of a game. However, the 31-year-old went missing in action in a couple of big games last season.
Aside from him losing a lot of influence in games, Kante also played lesser minutes than he did during the previous football campaign. The diminutive midfielder recorded 1777 minutes of football action in the Premier League last season, as against 2145 the previous campaign.
Kante's appearances for the Blues were also reduced last season, as he played 26 games in the league, compared to 30, the previous season.
#3 Timo Werner
The German striker was another Chelsea player whose performance dropped during the just concluded 2021-22 season.
Timo Werner struggled to get consistent minutes in the Blues' starting XI and it somewhat affected his individual performance for the London club.
Recall that the 26-year-old striker played a key role in Chelsea's attacking output during the 2020-21 campaign despite being wasteful in front of goal. Werner was still able to produce 12 goals and 11 assists.
However, he wasn't able to replicate his double-digit goals and assists tally last season. Werner managed to record a combined total of 17 goals and assists for Chelsea.
His game time has also dropped drastically compared to the previous season with the Blues. Werner played only 1285 minutes of league action as compared to 2605 during the 2020-21 season.
#1 Romelu Lukaku
Despite having a bright start to life in west London, the Belgian striker went on to have a season to forget with the Blues.
Lukaku's form drastically fell off in the 2021-22 football campaign and this could be attributed to a couple of several factors.
The Chelsea club record signing had his lowest goal contribution in his club career since the 2011-12 football season.
Romelu Lukaku also failed to produce a single assist for the Blues for the very first time in his league career. His lowest was during the 2011-12 season where he had one assist.
His goal record has also dropped drastically compared to his previous two seasons at Inter Milan. Lukaku scored 15 goals for the Blues in all competitions last season.
Whereas, his two years at Inter Milan saw him score 30 goals in all competitions during the 2020-21 season and 34 goals the season before.
