Five moments that shaped 2024 for Chelsea

From Stamford Bridge to Almaty, 2024 has been another rollercoaster year for Chelsea with joyous highs and miserable lows.

But, unlike 2023, the past 12 months have been full of improvements from starting the year in 10^th to finishing it somewhere within the top four, the Blues are back in the upper reaches of the Premier League table.

How did that happen and what key moments played their part in Chelsea’s 2024?

The FA Cup win against Aston Villa

2024 had started steadily with progression to the League Cup final, but conceding four goals in back-to-back league games against Liverpool and Wolves resulted in Blues dropping to 11^th and consequently the mood had soured significantly.

Next up came a fourth-round FA Cup replay against Aston Villa. It had the air of a must-win game about it, further emphasised by the chorus of unhappy fans that greeted Mauricio Pochettino upon his arrival at Villa Park.

What followed over the next two hours was a display full of defiance from a Chelsea team determined to prove a point. Two first half goals were capped by a sumptuous Enzo Fernandez free-kick that will be replayed for many years to come.

Hopes of a ninth FA Cup were still alive, although more Wembley heartbreak would end those dreams, and the 3-1 victory started a run of one defeat in 12. It felt like a turning point in every sense.

Enzo Fernandez did this against Aston Villa last season 🤩

🎥 | @EmiratesFACup #CFCSocial | #CFC pic.twitter.com/JbA2r0eRyA

— The Chelsea Social (@TheChelsSocial) November 26, 2024

That dramatic win over Manchester United

This was 100 plus minutes of football that fully typified Pochettino’s time at Chelsea. The fans were craving a win against Manchester United, with the last league win against the Red Devils coming all the way back in November 2017, and they got it in perhaps the most dramatic of circumstances.

Any pre-match nerves were rendered insignificant in the opening 20 minutes as the Blues led 2-0. It felt too easy, so then came an all too familiar collapse. Three unanswered United goals seemed set to throw this golden opportunity for Chelsea to beat their old foes out of the window.

Step up, Cole Palmer.

The boyhood Manchester United fan cooly dispatched a 100^th minute penalty and then fired in a driven effort a minute later to send Stamford Bridge into a state of pandemonium. Despair had turned into a moment for fans and players alike to bask in a victory of great proportions.

A simply breathtaking end to a football match. #CFC | #CheMun pic.twitter.com/DNQz2bmG93

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 4, 2024

Enzo Maresca’s arrival

Chelsea had finished 2023/24 with five successive wins under Pochettino to finish in sixth place, but there was always a sense the Argentinian would be replaced. And so, he was by the Italian Enzo Maresca.

He had just won the Championship with Leicester City, after previously working under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola, and arrived on July 1^st with his stock high. That didn’t stop Chelsea fans being sceptical about his appointment, such had been the difficulties of the previous two seasons that plagued the Blues fans’ minds.

Wind forward 182 days and the Italian has guided Chelsea to 10 wins from their opening 19 Premier League games and a perfect Conference League group stage. He is the leader of a young and exciting squad that hasn’t come without teething growing problems, but on each occasion, the Italian hasn’t been afraid to make the difficult decisions needed to continue the club’s upwards trend.

There is a sense that the owners may have finally found their man after a tumultuous few years at the helm.

A 6-2 win away to Wolves

The Maresca era had started on the wrong note with the opening day defeat to defending champions Manchester City. Going down by one goal combined with the poor pre-season results wise left fans craving that first win of 2024/25, and it would come in some style on a Sunday afternoon in August.

Chelsea hadn’t won at Molineux since the Frank Lampard-led Blues won 5-2 in 2019 and in particular the Christmas Eve defeat in 2023 plagued the minds of Chelsea fans worldwide. This time the Blues went one better and hit Wolves for six in an exhilarating 90 minutes.

Noni Madueke helped himself to a hat-trick, Palmer added another to his audacious goal collection and new signing Joao Felix rounded off the afternoon’s scoring in joyous scenes. The second half bossed 4-0, after a basketball-esque first half, and a message sent to the rest of the league.

Another victory at ‘Three Point Lane’

Beating Tottenham is not a want but a need for Chelsea fans, such is the rivalry between the two sides and regularity of the Blues coming out on top. The most recent meeting between the two sides had more on it though.

Chelsea were second in the league, but under Maresca they had yet to register a win against one of the traditional ‘Big Six’ sides. Draws to Arsenal and Manchester United as well as defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool preceded the Tottenham fixture.

And when two slip-ups put the Blues 2-0 behind in the opening exchanges, it felt like a massive chance was going to be missed on that Sunday afternoon.

But the response came in a performance full of spirit and character that was summed up by the celebrations after Fernandez completed the turnaround. Palmer’s arrogance had shone through in not only creating that goal but also the audacious Panenka that followed minutes later.

Chelsea had fought adversity and come out on top. Maresca was punching the air on the sidelines, the players rushed to celebrate in front of the fans and the fans responded in equal measure. This was the notable win the latest iteration of Chelsea needed.

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Written and edited by Harrison Burridge (@hburridge2)

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