Have Chelsea Been The Most Entertaining Side In The Premier League This Season?
Chelsea fans have been pulling their hair out for the best part of the last two seasons, as the Blues have been nothing short of frustrating since the club switched hands from Roman Abramovich to American businessman Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
The West London side look set for another mid-table finish in the Premier League as the 2023-24 campaign reaches its culmination, and Chelsea will certainly not be one of the favourites in the top 4 odds going into next year after what we have seen in the past couple of years.
However, while the Stamford Bridge faithful are continuously disgruntled and have even booed their players and chanted ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ at boss Mauricio Pochettino this season, Chelsea have been extremely entertaining to watch for the neutrals.
We’re not saying that everyone is enjoying Chelsea’s downfall, although rival fans will certainly be taking pleasure in the Blues’ fall from grace, instead stating that they have been involved in some of the best games of the season.
Regardless of the opposition, you never know what to expect from Chelsea when they step out onto the pitch home or away.
Their turbulent start to April was the perfect example of that, as the Blues were held to 2-2 draws by relegation zone sides Burnley and Sheffield United while they dramatically beat Manchester United 4-3 in a thriller at the Bridge.
That chaotic victory over the Red Devils sums the current state of Chelsea up perfectly in one match. Pochettino’s men romped into a two-goal lead thanks to Conor Gallagher and Cole Palmer, but goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes had the visitors back level at the break.
It looked like Chelsea had well and truly thrown it away when Garnacho headed Man United in front in the 67th minute. But in a rather manic turn of events 10 minutes into stoppage time, Palmer netted twice in 80 seconds to seal a 4-3 win and send Stamford Bridge into delirium.
That eight-day stretch which saw Chelsea drop points to Burnley and Sheffield United with late equalisers and stun Manchester United at the death merely scratches the surface of just how entertaining Chelsea matches have been for a large part of this season.
The 2-2 draw against Arsenal in October, in which Chelsea scuppered a 2-0 lead, the 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur, the resilient 4-4 stalemate with Manchester City, clinging on for a 3-2 win against Luton Town, also beating Brighton 3-2 and coming back from a goal down to beat Crystal Palace 3-1.
And that’s just to mention some of their Premier League encounters, in the cups it has been equally as chaotic, with two stoppage-time goals securing a 4-2 win over Leicester City and a 90th-minute strike from Gallagher sealing a 3-2 victory over Leeds United.
In total, more than half of Chelsea’s Premier League fixtures at the time of writing have seen four or more goals scored (16) and the Blues have played out a 0-0 draw just once when held to a goalless stalemate by Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium back in September. You wouldn’t dare touch them in the Premier League odds, but you simply cannot deny that Chelsea have provided the most entertainment in the English top flight this season.
