What has gone wrong with Chelsea? 5 reasons behind EPL giants downfall this season

Chelsea concluded their FA Cup campaign in the ongoing 2022-23 season on Sunday night after suffering a humiliating 0-4 loss against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. Prior to the FA Cup match, Chelsea suffered a 0-1 loss to City at home on January 6, which was their sixth loss of the Premier League 2022-23 season. While the team currently sits 10th in the Premier League standings with four wins and four draws to their credit, here’s a look at the five possible reasons behind Chelsea’s downfall this season.

Key players leaving and panic signings for Chelsea

Chelsea’s miserable run of form across competitions comes after an extravagant spending spree in the summer. While big names like Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Timo Werner and many others left the club earlier this season, the club also signed players like Raheem Sterling and Omari Hutchinson. However, the club also made some questionable signing by roping in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyand and Denis Zakaria.

Chelsea’s transition after the Roman Abramovich episode

All of Chelsea’s accounts were bronze late during the 2021-22 season as the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The ownership led by Todd Boehly then took over the club this year in May, but the takeover was not an easy one. The behind-the-scenes drama hit new heights after multiple reports claimed that the owner and manager Thomas Tuchel disagreed over several signings. It is pertinent to mention that Tuchel was sacked by the club after a poor start to the ongoing season. 

Chelsea’s inability to lay down a long-term plan

Although Chelsea reached the heights of its glory under Abramovich’s ownership, the club certainly made several poor decisions. The club sacked managers after a period of poor results, even after being a manager who is financially backed in the transfer window. Chelsea has notably had 17 different managers in the last 20 years.

Injury woes for Chelsea in the 2022-23 season

Former Brighton manager Graham Potter was handed the club’s responsibility after Tuchel’s shock exit. However, the season has been marred by injuries for the new manager. Potter has been unlucky to miss prominent players like Ben Chilwell, Reece Hames, Wesley Fofana, N’Golo Kante, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek among others to injuries.

Chelsea’s transfer policy

Chelsea have failed to return with desirable results this season, despite spending a record amount of £278.4m, on eight new players. This was the record money spent in a single transfer window by any club. The amount has gone up to £340m following the January arrivals of defender Benoit Badiashile, midfielder Andrey Santos and striker David Datro Fofana.