Chelsea is one of the clubs that really have challenged the status quo created by Liverpool and Manchester United in the pre and post Premier League era respectively. With the likes of Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti guiding the club to Champions League trophies recently, Chelsea are a force to reckon with in European football as well. We have a look at 10 Chelsea victories that mattered most over the years.
10. Chelsea vs Leeds United, 1970 FA Cup Final
Chelsea had managed to nip away with the League Title in 1955, but their performance dipped in the following era and they went into a 14 year trophy drought.
The trophy that ended that drought was their FA Cup victory in 1970 at Manchester against Leeds. After falling behind to an early Leeds goal, Chelsea got the equalizer from Peter Osgood before David Webb won them the game in extra time.
9. Chelsea v Wolverhampton Wanderers, 1954-55 English League
Since the club was founded in 1905, Chelsea had never won a major trophy for almost 50 years before they landed the League in 1955.
In what was the decider match between themselves and defending champions Wolves at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea managed to hold on and score from the spot to secure a 1-0 victory, one that defined the season for the Blues.
8. Bolton Wanderers vs Chelsea, 2004-05 Premier League
The Special One gave Chelsea their long awaited second Premier League title in the season he took charge of the Blues. But it come easily as the title clinching game at the Reebok Stadium, home of Bolton Wanderers, was being dominated by the hosts.
Chelsea needed a win to finish the task and Frank Lampard stepped up with two goals in the second half to send West London into a frenzy.
7. Bayern Munich v Chelsea, 2012 UEFA Champions League Final
Bayern Munich were in a Champions League final, on their home turf at the Allianz Arena and up against them were a fearsome Chelsea team coached by Italian Carlo Ancelotti that had defied all the odds to be in this position. Chelsea trailed for most of the game before a wonderful header from Didier Drogba in the dying minutes put them back in the game.
The match went to penalties and Drogba scored the winning kick as the Blues downed the German giants 5-4 on penalties.
6. Chelsea v Liverpool, 2003-04 Premier League
This goal didn’t land the Blues with a trophy, unlike the other ones on the list. But, this was a goal that persuaded Roman Abramovich, a Russian multi-millionaire to invest in Chelsea instead of Spurs.
The game was a decider between two powers of English football and Chelsea rode on Danish midfielder Jesper Gronkjaer’s stunning left foot strike from the edge of the box to beat the Reds.
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5. Chelsea v Benfica, 2013 UEFA Europa League Final
Chelsea found themselves in the Final of the Europa League against Portugal giants Benfica at the Amsterdam Arena a year after they had laid their hands on the UEFA Champions League.
Goals from Fernando Torres and Branislav Ivanovic made up for a costly defending error from Azpilicueta resulting in a Benfica penalty that they converted.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4-kCnF7gSU
4. Chelsea v Arsenal, 2019 Europa League Final
On another European night Final for the Blues, Chelsea fired 4 past arch-rivals Arsenal to clinch their second Europa League crown in the decade. The West Londoners, coached by Italian Maurizio Sarri, had seen their Sarriball being criticized vehemently throughout the season.
The victory in the Europa League coupled with their 3rd place finish in the Premier League meant they ended their season on a high.
3. Liverpool v Chelsea, 2005 FA Cup Final
Jose Mourinho and his Blue army met Liverpool at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales to square off in the final of the FA Cup. The occasion was critical in the sense that Jose Mourinho was desperate to get his double in his first season in charge.
Liverpool were chasing a major trophy as well and what culminated was a nail-biting game that finished 3-2 for the Londoners.
2. Chelsea v Manchester United, 2013 Capital One Cup
It was a goal fest when the English giants met for one last time with United still under the stewardship of Sir Alex Ferguson, with the match having 9 goals in all, 5 for Chelsea and 4 for United.
The game swung like a balance both ways until Chelsea made it 5-3 courtesy Ramires and even Giggs’ late penalty couldn’t save the Red Devils.
1. Chelsea v FC Barcelona, 2012 UEFA Champions League Semifinal 1st Leg
Two years back, Chelsea had suffered the worst fate as they were handed a defeat by Barcelona on a very controversial night at the Camp Nou.
This game was pure poetic justice as Chelsea took on the Catalan giants at the Stamford Bridge to defeat them 1-0 and book their place in the Final of the Champions League, which they won in Munich defeating Bayern.