Chelsea have just concluded their first campaign with Enzo Maresca at the helm having secured Champions League qualification and a Conference League trophy.
Wednesday's comeback 4-1 victory over Real Betis rubber-stamped that the Italian's opening 12 months at Stamford Bridge had been a success, yet it was far from plain-sailing for the West Londoners.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look back at a mammoth 57-game season which Chelsea fans hope will be the start of an era packed full of success and silverware.
SEASON OVERVIEW
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Final league position: Fourth
EFL Cup: Fourth round
FA Cup: Fourth round
Conference League: Winners
FIFA Club World Cup: TBC
Top scorer: Cole Palmer (15)
Most assists: Enzo Fernandez (14)
Commencing the season with a home encounter against Manchester City was hardly the start to his tenure that Maresca would have craved, yet the 2-0 home defeat emphasised how far Chelsea were behind the defending champions prior to the mid-season implosion of Pep Guardiola's side.
Chelsea would respond by losing just one of their next 16 games in the top flight - that coming by a 2-1 scoreline at Liverpool - with the run starting with a 6-2 demolition of Wolverhampton Wanderers and ending with five-goal and four-goal salvos at the likes of Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur.
With routine progression through the League Phase of the Conference League coinciding with the perception that Chelsea had become Premier League title challengers, everything appeared in place to become the main candidates to challenge a runaway Liverpool side.
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Instead, Maresca watched his side win just of their following 11 Premier League fixtures - at home to struggling Wolves and West Ham United - as defeats to the likes of Fulham, which ended a four-and-a-half month unbeaten home record, as well as Ipswich Town, Brighton & Hove Albion and rivals Aston Villa halted any momentum that Chelsea had been building.
Uncoincidentally, Cole Palmer had gone completely off the boil. Fourteen of his 15 Premier League goals for the season came by January 14, whereas nine of Nicolas Jackson's 10 strikes came prior to the middle of December.
Chelsea required home fixtures with beleaguered Southampton and Leicester City to kick-start their campaign, an FA Cup defeat at Brighton being quickly forgotten as they turned their attention back to the Conference League.
Although Chelsea were unconvincing against the likes of Copenhagen and Legia Warsaw as they reached the semi-finals, winning games was aiding their Premier League efforts, and they would lose just two of their final 12 matches, away at Arsenal and Newcastle United respectively.
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That said, after back-to-back draws with Brentford and Ipswich, it took an unforeseen comeback at neighbours Fulham for Chelsea to avoid being at risk of finishing in eighth spot, highlighting how far they had fallen since December.
Four wins came from their last five games, victories over Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and over Nottingham Forest in a season-defining game at the City Ground proving pivotal as Chelsea secured a return to the Champions League.
Three days on from that occasion in the East Midlands, Chelsea were in Poland to face Real Betis in the Conference League final, overcoming a half-time deficit through scoring four times from the 65th minute onwards to end Maresca's first season in charge in style.
PREMIER LEAGUE STATS
Wins: 20 (=3rd)
Draws: 9 (=8th)
Losses: 9 (=17th)
Goals scored: 64 (=7th)
Goals conceded: 44 (3rd)
Yellow cards: 99 (1st)
Red cards: 2 (=11th)
Passes: 19,796 (3rd)
Shots: 595 (3rd)
Big chances missed: 83 (2nd)
Saves: 115 (11th)
Tackles: 588 (19th)
Own goals: 0 (=14th)
Hit woodwork: 21 (3rd)
Clearances: 654 (18th)
HOW DID IT COMPARE TO LAST SEASON?
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In Mauricio Pochettino's only season in charge, there were an incredible 140 goals in Chelsea's Premier League matches. By comparison, that has decreased to 107 goals under Maresca, a change of style bringing its pros and cons to the results and entertainment delivered.
From a points perspective, Chelsea earned six more points (69) than under Pochettino (63), the difference being a simple case of two more wins (20) being recorded.
Nevertheless, the Blues would score 13 fewer goals under Maresca this season, 64 compared to 77 under Pochettino. However, it should be highlighted that many teams in this season's Premier League underperformed on that front in comparison to 2023-24.
Chelsea possessed the seventh-best attacking return this time around, whereas they were the fifth-best attack last season. Palmer netted seven times fewer this season, going from 22 strikes to 15.
On a more positive note, and what is perhaps an under-valued statistic, Chelsea conceded 20 fewer Premier League goals under Maresca (43) than they did with Pochettino at the helm (63).
PLAYER OF THE SEASON: MOISES CAICEDO
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At the halfway stage of the season, Palmer was cantering away with this accolade, and the England star is currently receiving the plaudits for his impact in the Conference League final.
However, it was perhaps fitting that Moises Caicedo scored the final goal of the season having arguably emerged as the first player on the teamsheet with his tenacious performances in the engine room.
As well as starting all 38 of Chelsea's Premier League matches, Caicedo racked up 3,815 minutes in all competitions, the most by any Chelsea player this season.
The numbers only tell a small part of the story, however. The presence of Caicedo has been integral to Chelsea's improving defensive work, the Ecuadorian star frequently breaking up attacks in front of the back four and setting Chelsea on their way going forward.
Caicedo, according to fBref, won 62.8% of his tackles, won 28 more tackles than any other Chelsea player, and made an incredible 163 tackles or interceptions combined, 65 more than any of his teammates.
In comparison to midfield partner Enzo Fernandez, Caicedo achieved more than double than the Argentine (78) in the latter category, further emphasising that the British transfer record signing is one of the world's best when it comes to the ugly side of the game.
STANDOUT RESULT: FULHAM 1-2 CHELSEA
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On April 20, when Chelsea were trailing 1-0 to their neighbours at Craven Cottage, they were granting an opportunity to teams outside of the top seven - including their hosts on that afternoon - to catch them in the Premier League table.
Maresca had also received a mixed reception from the travelling support, but two moments of brilliance from Tyrique George and Pedro Neto ensured that Chelsea pulled off a dramatic turnaround during the closing stages.
Not only would the comeback lead to Chelsea opening up an eight-point gap on eighth place with five games remaining, the players, fans and Maresca were united at the full-time whistle, this result acting as the springboard for Chelsea to deliver a further 12 points during the rest of the run-in.
BEST MOMENT
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Many will argue that the scenes after the Conference League final supersede those after the Forest game, but the significance of winning at the City Ground trumps overcoming Betis on several levels.
Despite holding the final Champions League spot heading into the final Premier League weekend, only a small minority of people were backing Chelsea to return to European football's top table, the perception being that Aston Villa would beat Manchester United and that Chelsea did not have the unity and maturity to overcome Forest on away territory.
While it was not pretty at times, Chelsea channelled the criticism that they had received into a performance that shut down their critics, Tosin Adarabioyo and Levi Colwill, in particular, warriors at the back with Reece James orchestrating matters from right-back.
Heading into that game, Chelsea had conceded just seven goals in their previous 10 Premier League games, but it was the shutout in this contest that made doubters stand up and take notice that this is a squad that, from a footballing perspective, is quickly growing into men.
TOP PRIORITY FOR SUMMER
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When you consider that Chelsea have played 57 times this season and their top scorer, who is not a centre-forward, only has 15 goals, it is clear to see why acquiring a new number nine is top of the priority list.
If reports are to be believed, Liam Delap will soon be arriving from Ipswich Town, but it is questionable whether a 22-year-old with just one year of top-flight football under his belt is the right way to go when Jackson remains inconsistent and Marc Guiu is still in the prospect bracket.
Another central defender is believed to be a possibility, even with how Chelsea have performed in the absence of first-choice Wesley Fofana, while Marc Cucurella may require backup in the left-back role.
With the arrivals of Andrey Santos and Estevao Willian strengthening the engine room and final third, Chelsea do not necessarily need to be proactive when it comes to incomings.
Instead, facilitating sales and getting big-earners such as Kepa Arrizabalaga and Raheem Sterling off the wage bill should take a similar level of priority as trying to ensure that Chelsea avoid any quiet periods in attack during next season.
FINAL VERDICT
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There have been times this season when runs such as five wins in 16 Premier League games and netting only three goals across a five-match stretch in all competitions has highlighted that this Chelsea side require time to evolve into the finished article.
Maresca's style of football also remains a topic of conversation that divides opinion, but guiding Chelsea to the Champions League and winning silverware in his first season now makes him one of the managers of 2024-25.
The signs are there that criticism of this squad will only help create a defiant and winning mentality within a group of players who are taking doubts over their personality, quite literally, personally.
A top-four finish this season essentially means that anything less in future campaigns becomes a disaster, yet for the first time in three years, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital are sitting back and savouring that the method to their madness in the transfer market is becoming justified.
Darren Plant
