The Blues’ worst-ever campaign under Frank Lampard may break unfavourable records, have a look at if Chelsea can get relegated, the relegation chances and the club’s least points
The west London team, which is currently in free decline, is waiting to see if a club legend can help them quickly turn their fortunes around.
Brighton overcame Chelsea 2-1 on Saturday, a result they deserved after a dominant display, making Frank Lampard’s return to Stamford Bridge a misery. The club then went onto lose 2-0 to Brighton with Lampard yet to win in his five matches at the club, a period where the side has scored only once.
During and following the Blues’ 12th Premier League defeat of the season, supporters were seen yelling at much-maligned co-owner Todd Boehly, who appointed Lampard as interim manager after ejecting Graham Potter at the beginning of the month.
Can Chelsea get relegated, chances, relegation history, least points and goals scored ever by the club in a season
From the directors’ box, where Roman Abramovich ruled for 19 years with a trophy-laden legacy, the American retaliated angrily to the misbehaving supporters.
Based off the last 10 Premier League games, Chelsea would be sitting in the relegation zone 📉 pic.twitter.com/Zs11WoUoFl
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) April 27, 2023
This area of the stadium never experienced anything near to this degree of unrest. The incident aptly captured the team’s depressing situation both on and off the pitch.
Despite having played one more game than Newcastle in fourth place, Chelsea is currently in 11th place, 35 points behind league leaders Arsenal and 17 points back.
Despite spending over £300 million on new players in January, the Blues are on on track for their worst-ever season in the top flight.
Star players such as Mykhailo Mudryk, Enzo Fernandez, and Joao Felix are all having a difficult time adjusting to life in English football.
If Lampard is unable to swiftly end Chelsea’s slump, several undesired records may now be severely in risk of being broken, which may spell serious concern for Chelsea.
Lowest points tally
Even if it seems like a lifetime ago, Potter’s tenure as Chelsea’s manager certainly got off to a promising start when he presided over a nine-game undefeated streak after succeeding Thomas Tuchel in September.
During that run, the Blues rose to fourth place in the Premier League on October 16 thanks to a remarkable 2-0 victory at Aston Villa, double-scoring Mason Mount.
Of course, it turned out to be a false dawn. Only four more games have been won by Chelsea since that time, giving them the worst record in the division.
With six games left, Lampard’s club has only accumulated 39 points. Their immediate objective must be to surpass the 50-point mark in order to avoid making history for the wrong reasons.
Chelsea has never finished with fewer than 50 points, though they have twice surpassed that average total: in 2015–16 after Jose Mourinho’s fall and the subsequent resurgence of Guus Hiddink, and all the way back in 1995–96.
Least amount of goals
Chelsea has had difficulties on defence this season, but their main problem has been a lack of creativity up front.
Chelsea is still well below their worst season total in club history with just 30 goals in 31 games, two fewer than Erling Haaland has for reigning champions Manchester City.
It seems unlikely that the Blues’ current collection of duds will keep them from surpassing that total, especially without a natural No. 9 in their starting lineup. The Blues scored 46 goals in 1995-1996.
Lowest finish Relegation?
Chelsea’s 1995–96 season was unquestionably a low point, although their worst Premier League showing ever happened two years earlier.
The anticipation was initially high after Glen Hoddle was selected to serve as player-manager prior to 1993-1994, but the Blues finished in 14th position, extending their long trophy drought to 24 years.
Chelsea concluded the season with just 51 points from 42 games, which works out to 1.214, which is their lowest points per game (PPG) total ever. At this point, there were still 22 clubs in the league.
It’s highly likely that Lampard’s club will hit even lower lows right now. The gap between them and Bournemouth, who are now in 14th place and have won three of their past four games, is only six points.
West Ham, a rival team in London, has one game left and is only two points behind Chelsea.
Relegation?
That brings up a crucial question: Is it conceivable for Chelsea to become the first Premier League team to ever be relegated? Yes, at least mathematically speaking.
The Blues are statistically the fourth-worst team in the league, after Southampton (12), Everton (17), and Leicester (17), with only 18 points after 20 games.
Despite playing like a club headed for relegation, Lampard’s squad should ultimately avoid an unbelievable fall into the Championship.
Even if Chelsea loses all of their remaining games, it would be a huge surprise if they finished in 18th or below given that the last team to be relegated after achieving 39 points was Birmingham City back in 2010–2011.
In total, Chelsea have been relegated six times from English football’s First Division. The Blues were relegated in the following seasons: 1909–10, 1923–24, 1961–62, 1974–75, 1978–79 and most recently, 1987–1988.