The season covers the period from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023. This was the first full season under new owner and chairman Todd Boehly after he officially acquired the club on 30 May 2022, making it the first season since 2002–03 without Roman Abramovich. It was also the first time in Chelsea's history that they were under four different managers in a single season. As Chelsea finished in 12th place, this was the first season since 1995–96 that the team failed to finish in the top half of the league table and the club's lowest league finish since ending the 1993–94 season in 14th place.
Kits
Home
Home alt.
Away
Away alt.
Third
Third alt.
Goalkeeper 1
Goalkeeper 2
Goalkeeper 3
Season summary
On 23 May, it was announced that long-serving goalkeeping coach Christophe Lollichon would leave the club after having joined from Rennes in 2007 to help with the training of former goalkeeper Petr Čech.[6]
On 28 May, Chelsea released a statement via the club website stating that "Chelsea Football Club can confirm that a final and definitive agreement was entered into last night to sell the Club to the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Capital consortium. It was expected that the transaction would be completed on Monday."[7] The consortium led by Todd Boehly, chairman and CEO of Eldridge Industries, and Clearlake Capital, announced completion of the ownership transfer of Chelsea on 30 May 2022. The consortium also includes Hansjörg Wyss, founder of the Wyss Foundation, and Mark Walter, co-founder and CEO of Guggenheim Partners. Walter and Boehly are partial owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Los Angeles Sparks. The transaction has received all necessary approvals from The Government of the United Kingdom, The Premier League, and other authorities.[8]
It was announced on 20 June that long-serving Chairman Bruce Buck would step-down after 19 years in the role effective on 30 June.[9] A further statement was released on 22 June announcing a new-look Board of Directors including Boehly, Eghbali, Feliciano, Walter, Wyss as well as Jonathan Goldstein, Barbara Charone, Daniel Finkelstein and James Pade. It was also revealed that long serving Marina Granovskaia left the club, with Boehly acting as interim Sporting Director as well as chairman.[10] The club then announced on 27 June that Petr Čech would leave his role as technical and performance advisor at the end of the month.[11]
On 13 July, Chelsea announced their first signing of the season, with English international winger Raheem Sterling joining the club for a reported fee of £47.5 million.[12] Three days later, they completed the signing of Kalidou Koulibaly for a reported fee of £33 million.[13]
In the first match of the new Premier League season, Chelsea defeated Everton 1–0 at Goodison Park, with Jorginho scoring a penalty.[14] The second game of the season saw Chelsea face their North London rivalsTottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge. After a relatively quiet first half, Chelsea went into the break 1–0 up courtesy of defender Kalidou Koulibaly's first goal for the club – a volley from a Marc Cucurella corner. Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg equalised in the 68th minute, with Chelsea players and manager, Thomas Tuchel, unhappy that Kai Havertz had been fouled in the build-up to the goal, as well as Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison being in an offside position and obstructing Chelsea goalkeeper Édouard Mendy's view of Højbjerg's shot. In the aftermath of the goal, Tuchel squared up to Tottenham Hotspur manager, and former Chelsea boss, Antonio Conte, after Conte's exuberant celebrations. Both managers were shown yellow cards.[15] Chelsea regained the lead through right-back Reece James' composed finish in the 77th minute. Tottenham Hotspur equalised again in the 96th minute, after Harry Kane had headed in from a corner. Once again, Tuchel and the Chelsea players were unhappy that Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero had pulled on Marc Cucurella's hair at the previous corner – an incident which had been reviewed by VAR referee Mike Dean.[16] Both the referee and VAR admitted a mistake was made, during the hair pulling incident. Following the full-time whistle, there was another heated confrontation between Tuchel and Conte, with referee Anthony Taylor showing both straight red cards. In his post-match press conference, Tuchel stated that he was frustrated with the refereeing decisions against his team, and when asked about the supporters' view that Taylor has a history of making decisions against Chelsea, he replied: "I don't think just some of the fans think that. I can assure you the whole dressing room of us, every single person, thinks that".[16] He went on to say that "of course" his players were worried when they had learned of Taylor's appointment to this game, and replied "maybe it would be better" when asked if Taylor should not referee Chelsea games in future.[16] In the third league match, Chelsea travelled to Elland Road to face rivalsLeeds United and suffered a heavy 3–0 defeat, the first of the season, leaving them five points behind league leaders Arsenal.[17]
During the first week of September long time serving head of international scouting Scott McLachlan left the club. He had been on gardening leave for three months after being in his post for the last eleven years – during which he oversaw both the men's and youth recruitment during a significant portion of the Roman Abramovich era.[18]
On 8 September, Chelsea announced Graham Potter as their new head coach.[21]
Potter's debut match for Chelsea saw the Blues’ draw against Red Bull Salzburg 1–1 in a home Champions League match, with a Raheem Sterling goal.[22] In Potter's second match, Chelsea defeated Crystal Palace 2–1 away from home. In his third match in charge, Chelsea trounced Milan 3–0 at Stamford Bridge, improving their position in the Champions League. They also won the reverse fixture away from home 2–0 top go top of their group. In between the two UCL games, Chelsea easily dispatched of Wolverhampton, 3–0. Chelsea's good form continued, as they defeated Aston Villa 2–0 on the road, with a Mason Mount brace. Overall, Potter won five and drew one of his first six matches in charge.
However, in the next 19 league matches, Chelsea only managed 4 wins and seven draws, while sustaining eight losses culminating in a 0–2 home defeat to Aston Villa. As a result, the team dropped to 11th and Graham Potter was sacked on 2 April 2023. Chelsea were also out of both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup after losing to Manchester City in the third round of both competitions although they unexpectedly knocked out Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League round of 16 (0–1 away, 2–0 home). He was replaced by interim Bruno Saltor until 6 April,[3] when a new interim, Frank Lampard, was hired until the end of the season.[4] Lampard had already led Chelsea in the 2019–20 and the first half of 2020–21 seasons. In Lampard's first match on 8 April 2023, Chelsea lost 0–1 in an away game against Wolves.[23]
Chelsea ended the season in 12th place after only managing 1 win and 2 draws, while sustaining 6 losses, in their nine league games under Lampard ending with a home draw to Newcastle United, capping off a turbulent first season under new ownership. As they had also been knocked out of the Champions League after losing 4–0 on aggregate to Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, they will not participate in European football next season for the first time since 2016–17, the most recent time they won the Premier League.[24][25]
Players and squad numbers last updated on 28 May 2023. Appearances include all competitions.[26] Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
^Released on 1 July 2022, McEachran joined Swindon Town on 13 February 2023.[86]
^Released on 1 July 2022, Ballo joined Wolfsberger AC on 12 July 2022
^ On 30 October 2023, Drinkwater announced his retirement from football.[91]
^Released on 1 July 2022, Musonda joined Levante on 16 August 2022
^Released on 20 July 2022, Tobin joined Cray Wanderers on 8 November 2023
^Released on 29 August 2022, Barkley joined Nice on 4 September 2022
^Released on 11 November 2022, Kpakpé joined Rangers on 10 January 2023.[110]
^On 15 January, Bergström was recalled from his season-long loan at Peterborough United.[115]
^On 31 January, Wady was recalled from his season-long loan at Woking.[118]
^On 2 September, Adegoke was recalled from his season-long loan at Welling United.[121]
^On 23 January, Vale was recalled from his season-long loan at Hull City.[132]
^On 11 January, Wareham was recalled from his season-long loan at Leyton Orient.[136]
^On 31 January, Fiabema was recalled from his season-long loan at Forest Green Rovers.[139]
Overall transfer activity
Expenditure
Summer: £275,100,000
Winter: £299,700,000
Total: £574,800,000
Income
Summer: £64,000,000
Winter: £12,000,000
Total: £76,000,000
Net totals
Summer: £211,100,000
Winter: £287,700,000
Total: £498,800,000
Pre-season and friendlies
Chelsea announced they would travel to the United States to take part in the FC Series with a friendly against Arsenal.[145] A month later the club announced two further fixtures as part of the FC Series, against América and Charlotte FC.[146] On 6 July, Chelsea confirmed they would play Udinese in Italy after the American tour.[147]
During the mid-season winter break, The club announced a friendly with Aston Villa in Abu Dhabi.[148]
Source: Premier League Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) If the champions, relegated teams or qualified teams for UEFA competitions cannot be determined by rules 1 to 3, rules 4.1 to 4.3 are applied – 4.1) Points gained in head-to-head record between such teams; 4.2) Away goals scored in head-to-head record between such teams; 4.3) Play-offs[150] Notes:
Note: This match, originally to be played on 10 September 2022, was included in the league-wide postponement due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.[152]
Note: The match, originally to be played on 18 September 2022, was postponed due to police concerns surrounding the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.[153]
Note: The match, originally scheduled for 29 April 2023, was postponed due to consequences of the increased policing demands necessary for the coronation of King Charles III.[154]
Chelsea were drawn against German side Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16, with the first leg away from home as they progressed as group winners.[156]
Note: The match was originally scheduled to kick-off at 20:00 GMT, but was delayed by ten minutes due to the late arrival of the bus to the stadium carrying Borussia Dortmund's team.
Quarter-finals
The quarter-finals draw was held on 17 March 2023.
Chelsea were drawn against Spanish side and defending champions Real Madrid, with the first leg away from home.[157]
^Campbell, Jordan (13 December 2022). "Leon King close to new Rangers deal – Beale's return is boost for academy talents". theathletic.com. Retrieved 11 January 2023. There is also interest in Alex Kpakpe, the 18-year-old defender who left Chelsea last month after a several years disrupted due to injury and illness.(subscription required)
^"Brilliant Beach grabs first senior win". 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023. In other loan news, Harvey Vale has returned to Chelsea from his loan spell with Hull City, having made two Championship appearances there as injury saw him sidelined for much of his time with the Tigers.
