The Weekly Take, Issue 14: From Elite to Irrelevant

In an important Premier League match that had major implications on which teams qualify for next season’s Champions League, Chelsea beat Liverpool 1-0, with Olivier Giroud scoring the goal in the 32nd minute.

The victory moved Chelsea to within two points of fourth place, and with it, a spot in the Champions League.

However, one thing that was notable about the match was the relative lack of buzz over it.

Just six months ago, a Chelsea win over Liverpool in a clash of such magnitude would have set the football world on fire and have been the match everyone would be talking about the next day.

But now? None of that.

This is a perfect illustration of Chelsea’s season. In one season, the Blues have gone from a powerhouse domestically and in Europe to becoming ever more irrelevant.

One season after winning the Premier League title, Chelsea’s defense of the title has been utterly abysmal. They are currently fifth in the league and more than 20 points behind new champions Manchester City.

Their European campaign did not go well either.

In a Champions League group they were expected to win, Chelsea could only finish second behind Roma, and as a result, were forced to play against a first-placed team from another group in the round of 16.

Chelsea were drawn against Barcelona, and, to no one’s surprise, were duly knocked out by an aggregate score of 4-1.

Chelsea have also not fared well in terms of transfers.

This season, Chelsea have spent tremendous amount of money to bring in names such as Antonio Rüdiger, Álvaro Morata, Tiémoué Bakayoko, Giroud, and Ross Barkley. While each of these players were expected to make significant positive contributions to Chelsea’s cause, especially given their high transfer fees, none of them have managed to move the needle the way that they were expected to.

On the other side of the coin, among the players who have departed from Stamford Bridge this season include Nemanja Matić, Asmir Begović, Juan Cuadrado, and Diego Costa. Thus far, all four have been playing at a higher level than they had been at Chelsea.

This is not the first time that Chelsea have made such mistakes in the transfer market.

Among the future stars that Chelsea gave up on before they were truly able to blossom include Kevin de Bruyne and Mohamed Salah, both of whom have become the best player at Premier League rivals Manchester City and Liverpool respectively – clear examples of poorly-judged player sales that have come back to haunt Chelsea.

Even though Chelsea have qualified for the final of the FA Cup, where they will play against Manchester United, even a victory over the Red Devils at Wembley will not make up for an underwhelming season that has not only provided little in terms of results, but also diminished Chelsea’s reputation on the global footballing stage. This is particularly true when the amount of money spent, the players signed, and the hype behind the club going into the season are all taken into account.

Even though a club may have large amounts of money, the club’s wealth does not guarantee that they will perpetually remain relevant.

A good example of this is Monaco.

Despite the tremendous amounts of money Monaco have spent, over the last five seasons including this one, Monaco only have one Ligue 1 title to show for it, while their best showing in the Champions League has been a semifinal appearance.

In this season’s Champions League, Monaco finished dead last in their group, behind Beşiktaş, Porto, and RB Leipzig. Not only were they knocked out of the Champions League, they didn’t even drop into the Europa League because they were last in their group and not third.

Monaco are largely considered irrelevant on the continental stage and not genuine contenders either domestically or in Europe.

This should serve as a cautionary tale for Chelsea.

If Chelsea fail to improve on their poor showing this season, they too will run the risk of not only losing their status as one of football’s elite clubs, but also falling away to the point that they become irrelevant and a non-factor, whether in the Premier League or in European competition.