At the conclusion of the 2021/22 season, Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea were faced with an uncomfortable truth. The German had led the club to its poorest home record since the terrible 2015–16 season, when the Blues ended 10th, despite having amassed the most Premier League points since the club’s previous championship in 2016–17.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Nine victories out of a possible 19 mirrored the season’s very miserable conclusion, which saw a string of poor losses and performances at a Stamford Bridge playing field that was less than full feeling the effects of the sanctions and worn out from the takeover process. The victory over relegated Watford on the last day was just the third of nine since January.
Chelsea finished the season with 34 points from 19 games, just one more than they did in the 2020–21 campaign, despite losing 23 points overall at home.
Although this is a problem Tuchel has encountered, the Stamford Bridge fall has been ongoing since the Blues’ last championship under Antonio Conte five years ago, and it now seems to be a major roadblock to whatever title hopes the team may have under Todd Boehly.
The disparity in performance between the 2016–17 season and the present may be seen in many stats. The only missed points came from two losses to Liverpool and Crystal Palace during that exceptional season under Conte, when the Blues climbed from 10th the previous May to first the following May. The Italian supervised 17 victories at home, no draws, and the only dropped points.
51 points were amassed in that year, surpassing Jose Mourinho’s tally from the Bridge’s historic 2004–2005 title-winning season. The only Chelsea coach to come close to Conte’s total in the five seasons afterwards is Maurizio Sarri, who gained 42 during the 2018–19 campaign. This statistic might not sit well with certain supporters.
The disturbing pattern, aside from that, has been a downward decline; 37 in Conte’s second season, 36 in Frank Lampard’s first, and 33 and 34 in the most recent two. Further analysis reveals that 16/17 leads the pack in goals per 90, as expected, with 2.89, followed by 18/19 in second place with 2.05, 21/22 in third place with 1.95, 20/21 in fourth place with 1.63, and 17/18 and 19/20 tied for fifth place with 1.58.
The preceding season ranks worst in terms of shots and shots on target, whereas the most recent title-winning season again ranks first. Supporters shouldn’t be surprised to see that Sarri’s season had the most possessions, followed closely by the previous two campaigns and Conte’s title victory. Figures illustrating the evolution of fashion over a five-year period.
In the years 2021–2022, Chelsea’s home performance nearly lost them a Champions League berth or at the very least brought them dangerously close to a match they shouldn’t have been in on the last day.
