Five things Chelsea must do to avoid embarrassing Premier League finish and triumph in FA Cup
Chelsea’s season has completely plummeted over the last couple of months with the Blues on a six-match losing streak in the Premier League
Chelsea players huddle(Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
While Chelsea continue to seek out the leader of BlueCo’s long-term vision, there are still four matches remaining of the 2025/26 season.
A campaign that many Blues supporters will be pleased to see the back of, but one where Reece James could still be lifting a trophy on May 16. Chelsea take on Manchester City at Wembley Stadium in the FA Cup final next weekend in the Blues’ final attempt to add some silverware to what has been a thoroughly disappointing campaign at Stamford Bridge.
A mid-season managerial change was never the plan but Enzo Maresca’s relationship with the club’s board became so fractured that it was only ever going to end one way. Liam Rosenior was handed a six-and-a-half year deal, only for his tenure to end less than four months into his long-term contract. It is now up to Calum McFarlane, someone who does not own a UEFA Pro Licence, to finish the season strongly.
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Thus far, in McFarlane’s second spell as interim head coach this term, the two performances have been a stark contrast. The first, a courageous performance against Leeds United to give Chelsea supporters hope – not only did they qualify for the FA Cup final with the 1-0 win at Wembley, but the players, who downed tools towards the end of Rosenior’s reign, showed fight and spirit at the Home of Football.
There was, all of the sudden, a bit of hope for the remainder of the season. It seemed the players were playing for McFarlane, who also got the tactics spot on against Leeds. However, when Nottingham Forest came to Stamford Bridge eight days later, it was back to more of the same for the Blues.
It was 2-0 to Forest, who are 16th in the Premier League table, inside 15 minutes in west London. The Chelsea players looked dejected – shot of any sort of confidence. Forest went 3-0 up early on in the second half and took their foot off the gas, with the Europa League semi-final second leg with Aston Villa on the horizon. It could have been more.
Anfield is next for Chelsea, who simply have to show more personality, character and mental fortitude – something Rosenior mentioned the squad lacks on numerous occasions during his short time with the club – otherwise they risk getting a beating by Liverpool, who themselves are not in the best nick at the moment. Chelsea need to show maturity because this young squad is severely lacking that at the moment.
Chelsea have to also solve their goal scoring woes in the Premier League. The Blues were on the verge of going six straight top-flight matches without finding the back of the net, only for Joao Pedro’s world-class bicycle kick to ensure that was not the case deep into stoppage time on Monday afternoon.
It’s not as if Chelsea are not creating chances. They are – although not as many as they would like – but their composure in front of goal is non-existent. As far as McFarlane is concerned, all he can do is get them into the positions and it is up for the attacking players to do the rest.
At the other end of the pitch, the defensive mistakes need to stop. That has been Chelsea’s main problem all season-long; whether it be under Maresca, Rosenior or McFarlane. Schoolboy errors and lapses of concentration have been prevalent – and they continue to cost Chelsea games.
In the defeat to Forest, the Blues conceded two in the blink of an eye and both goals were so avoidable. Taiwo Awoniyi’s header, less than two minutes in, was the result of poor marking from Trevoh Chalobah. The Blues defender allowed Awoniyi the freedom of the box and he had the simple task of heading past a helpless Robert Sanchez from close range.
For the second goal, Malo Gusto stupidly pulled back Awoniyi and Igor Jesus scored the resulting penalty. In today’s VAR world, there was no chance whatsoever that Gusto would have got away with that – and the Chelsea right-back was fortunate not to be shown a red card.
McFarlane, somehow, needs to eradicate these sorts of mistakes from Chelsea’s game between now and the end of the season, even though Rosenior and Maresca both failed to do that.
Getting the supporters back onside is crucial for Chelsea. There is only one home game left of the season, against Tottenham no less, and a trip to Wembley, where the Blues fans will take up half of the stadium. At the moment, there is such a detachment between the supporters and the whole of the club; including the players. Getting the basics right – showing fight, determination and character – will help get the supporters back onside with the players at least. With the ownership, however, that is a different story.
‘NotAProjectCFC’, the fan group responsible for the recent protest outside Stamford Bridge before the defeat to Manchester United, announced after the game on Monday that they plan to do similar before the FA Cup final and during the match with Tottenham.
Chelsea also need to think about their pitch to prospective head coaches. The Blues are in the midst of a thorough process, which club sources are insistent they will not rush, to identify a new permanent head coach. Andoni Iraola, Marco Silva, Xabi Alonso and Xavi Hernandez have all been linked with the vacant role at Stamford Bridge, but they will not have been encouraged with Chelsea’s recent on-pitch showings.
Remarkably, Chelsea sit just three points above 13th-place Newcastle United with three matches of the season left to play. If the Blues finish below 12th, it will be their lowest position since BlueCo bought the club almost four years ago. With that in mind, supporters are well within their rights to question the direction.
