The 2022/23 season is over, and although Chelsea fans might be keen to move on as soon as possible, there remains the small matter of a season review to wrap things up with a battered and bruised bow.
A historically poor campaign which yielded record lows for points, goals scored and morale, the debut season under the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership will be remembered for all the wrong reasons, and there is now some serious work to be done to ensure such a horrific campaign is not repeated next year.
Strap in, because here's a look back at the 2022/23 season for Chelsea.
Outlook heading into the 2022/23 season
On May 30, 2022, the Boehly-Clearlake group completed their purchase of Chelsea, vowing to throw huge sums of money into the squad and turn the Blues into trophy-hungry monsters.
There was cautious optimism for their project. Fans expected a bit of a bumpy transition but the general consensus was that a spot in the top four was a realistic goal, particularly as the money kept flying in on new players.
Led by Thomas Tuchel originally, Chelsea fans believed they were in for a fun season of change. Oh, how wrong they were.
Chelsea 2022/23 transfers in
Chelsea 2022/23 transfers out
Chelsea 2022/23 player of the season
Thiago Silva
Rarely has there ever been so little competition for a club's player of the season award.
For the majority of the season, veteran centre-back Thiago Silva continued to do his best to drag Chelsea out of their slump, putting in a series of excellent, composed performances at the heart of an under-fire defence.
While the 38-year-old's form may have dipped towards the end of the campaign, there was never any serious competition to take this gong away from him.
Honourable mentions: Enzo Fernandez, Raheem Sterling
Chelsea 2022/23 goal of the season
Conor Gallagher vs Crystal Palace
In a season in which there weren't many goals to celebrate, Conor Gallagher's glorious strike against Crystal Palace to kick off October is undoubtedly one worth remembering.
With a deft touch to nutmeg his defender, Gallagher unleashed a ferocious effort from well outside the box which rocketed into the back of the Palace net to seal an important 2-1 victory - kicking off perhaps the last true period of optimism across the season.
Add in the fact that this was against his old loan side, and you've got all the makings of a ridiculous goal.
Honourable mentions: Kalidou Koulibaly vs Tottenham, Raheem Sterling vs Leicester, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang vs Crystal Palace, Mason Mount vs Aston Villa, Kai Havertz vs Red Bull Salzburg
Chelsea 2022/23 performance of the season
Chelsea 3-0 AC Milan
Chelsea played 50 games this season and won just 16 of those, so the list of top performances is a short one.
The Blues fell well short in the Premier League but did put in a series of sensational performances in Europe, with October's 3-0 victory over AC Milan at Stamford Bridge standing out from the crowd.
The Rossoneri went on to reach the Champions League final but it was Chelsea who looked deserving of that spot in this meeting, where goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Wesley Fofana and Reece James saw Graham Potter's side secure an emphatic victory.
Honourable mentions: AC Milan 0-2 Chelsea, Chelsea 2-0 Borussia Dortmund
Chelsea 2022/23 signing of the season
Enzo Fernandez
16 new faces came through the door at Stamford Bridge this season and it's a real possibility that most of them head straight back out, such was the disappointment felt by fans towards their new signings.
Among the rare positives was the most expensive of the bunch, Enzo Fernandez. Paying just shy of £107m to lure him away from Benfica in January, Chelsea never regretted their spend as the 22-year-old quickly proved himself to be not just one of the team's best players, but also the most passionate leaders. A true star for years to come.
Fernandez made 22 appearances in his first half-season, and despite playing in a system which did not always get the best out of him, never let fans down.
Honourable mentions: Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke
Chelsea 2022/23 most improved player
Lewis Hall
18-year-old Lewis Hall may have played in just nine Premier League games this season but is undeniably a deserving winner of this prize.
Hall, a midfielder by trade, spent a large part of the season on the fringes but wasted little time in making an impact when he did get his opportunities, quickly outperforming his senior, more expensive teammates and proving he is ready to play Premier League football.
Whether his future lies in midfield or in the left-back role in which he impressed remains to be seen, but Hall can look back on his individual campaign with great pride.
Honourable mentions: None
Chelsea 2022/23 disappointment of the season
The 2022/23 season
Look, no part of this season went well. No competitions can be remembered fondly. None of the four managers will be proud of their performances. Nearly every player regressed significantly. It was just awful.
While there was obviously a huge change behind the scenes this summer, nobody expected this to happen to Chelsea. Nearly every decision, from the first to the last, was the wrong one, and now the Blues have been left licking their wounds.
You can pick out the players who left the most to be desired (and there's a whole lot of them), but nobody is blameless from this mess.
Honourable mentions: Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, Mykhailo Mudryk, Graham Potter
Chelsea 2022/23 most appearances
- Kai Havertz - 47 (35 Premier League, 1 FA Cup, 1 Carabao Cup, 10 Champions League)
- Conor Gallagher - 45 (35 Premier League, 1 FA Cup, 1 Carabao Cup, 8 Champions League)
- Kepa Arrizabalaga - 39 (29 Premier League, 1 FA Cup, 9 Champions League)
- Raheem Sterling - 38 (28 Premier League, 1 Carabao Cup, 9 Champions League)
- Mateo Kovacic - 37 (27 Premier League, 1 FA Cup, 1 Carabao Cup, 8 Champions League)
Chelsea 2022/23 top scorers
- Raheem Sterling - 9 (6 Premier League, 3 Champions League)
- Kai Havertz - 9 (7 Premier League, 2 Champions League)
- Joao Felix - 4 (4 Premier League)
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - 3 (1 Premier League, 2 Champions League)
- Jorginho - 3 (2 Premier League, 1 Champions League)
Chelsea 2022/23 top assisters
- Mason Mount - 6 (2 Premier League, 4 Champions League)
- Raheem Sterling - 4 (3 Premier League, 1 Champions League)
- Ben Chilwell - 4 (3 Premier League, 1 Champions League)
- Hakim Ziyech - 3 (3 Premier League)
- Mykhailo Mudryk - 2 (2 Premier League)
Chelsea 2022/23 record in all competitions
- Premier League - P38, W11, D11, L16, GF 38, GA 47, GD -9, Pts 44, Position 12th
- FA Cup - P1, W0, L1, GF 0, GA 4, third round
- Carabao Cup - P1, W0, L1, GF 0, GA 2, third round
- Champions League - P10, W5, D1, L4, GF 12, GA 9, quarter-final
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This article was originally published on 90min as Chelsea 2022/23 season review: When everything went wrong at Stamford Bridge.
