Chelsea FC have now completed all their preseason friendlies, and that means there is only one more preseason warmup, but it’s a trophy match! The Blues, as winners of the Champions League, will take on Europa League title-holders Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday night in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
After the clash at Windsor Park in midweek, the Blues will then host Crystal Palace on Sat. August 14 in the Premier League season opener. With that in mind, let’s preview the rapidly approaching new campaign.
Revisiting Last Season
Frank Lampard lasted a little bit longer than the average term of a Blues boss under Roman Abramovich, but eventually his time ran out. The German defensive guru Thomas Tuchel took over a middling mid-table side and brought them a top four finish.
In addition to the UCL title, Tuchel also led the west London side to the FA Cup final game, building a winning brand of football based on defense-first oriented tactics. Chelsea did two things better than pretty much anyone else- find a way to beat Manchester City when it counts, and stop opponents from scoring.
He’s Arrived/Possibly Coming
They still have yet to sign anybody this summer, as Marcus Bettinelli (Fulham), who arrived on a free, is the only inbound thus far. However, Romelu Lukaku is reportedly on the verge of coming over, after the southwest London outfit finally gave up their futile pursuit of Erling Haaland.
He’s Gone/Possibly Leaving
Willy Caballero (released), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan), Billy Gilmour (Norwich) Loan and Olivier Giroud (AC Milan) are all gone, and it looks like Tammy Abraham and Timo Werrner could soon join them in heading out the exit door.
Key Games
After the opener versus Palace, they’ll have to hit the ground running, with four of the next five against fellow big six competition. They have London derbies on August 22 (at Arsenal) and September 19 (at Tottenham), in addition to a crunch clash at Anfield on August 28.
The biggest one comes at home versus Manchester City on September 25. In other words, their season could be defined rather early on.
Bottom Line
After winning Europe last term as a surprise dark horse, the Blues will sneak up on nobody this time around. Chelsea have raised the stakes now, and expectations will be sky high this season. Anything short of a serious Premier League title challenge would be a tremendous disappointment.
2021/22 Premier League Season Preview Series
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune.
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