Chelsea 2024–25 Season: The New Era Starts to Take Shape | OneFootball

Chelsea dropped the curtain on their 2024–25 season by lifting the first piece of silverware of the BlueCo era.

The Blues beat Real Betis in the final of the Conference League—a tournament in which Chelsea do not really want to be featuring anyway—having booked their return to the Champions League just days earlier by finishing fourth in the Premier League.

On paper, there were noticeable steps forward in Enzo Maresca’s debut year at the helm, but the celebratory mood which surrounds the end of the campaign has not yet fully brushed over an ugly mid-season run which saw Chelsea go from fringe title hopefuls to a fight to get out of Europe’s third-tier competition.

Here’s Sports Illustrated’s review of Chelsea’s 2024–25 campaign.

Chelsea 2024–25 Player of the Season

Moisés Caicedo

Caicedo is the clear winner. / IMAGO/PA Images

Moisés Caicedo took home the Men’s Player of the Season award at Chelsea’s post-season celebrations, and deservedly so. Not only was he the only player to feature in every Premier League game this campaign, but Caicedo even started all 38.

Those who have watched closely over the past two years will know that Caicedo did not deserve the vast majority of the taunting which was sent his way in 2023–24, but the Ecuador international elevated his game even further this year to ensure even his fiercest critics had to take notice of his levels.

A destructive force in midfield, Caicedo’s knack of recovering possession is almost N’Golo Kanté-esque in nature. He’s shielded Chelsea’s defence with terrifying ease and even helped out by taking a spot at right-back at times.

There are fair questions as to whether any player can ever truly be worth the £115 million ($147 million) Chelsea paid to sign him in 2023, but Caicedo has come very close to justifying that expense.

Honourable mentions: Marc Cucurella, Cole Palmer.

Chelsea 2024–25 Goal of the Season

Cole Palmer vs. Wolves

Cole Palmer ended the season with 15 goals to his name, but none were sweeter than his first of the year against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In a game which also yielded three assists for Chelsea’s ice-cold talisman, Palmer produced a moment of pure magic. Nicolas Jackson managed to tip a long ball into his path and, without a whisper of hesitation, Palmer opted to chip Wolves goalkeeper José Sá with an audacious effort from outside the box.

It won August’s Goal of the Month and kick-started an excellent start to the campaign which had Chelsea looking capable of challenging Liverpool in the title race.

Honourable mentions: Jadon Sancho vs. Ipswich, Cole Palmer vs. Brighton, Moises Caicedo vs. Man Utd.

Chelsea 2024–25 Performance of the Season

Tottenham Hotspur [A]

Chelsea’s meeting with Tottenham was a wild one. / IMAGO/Sebastian Frej

Look, let’s be frank. In terms of Chelsea’s best performances this season, the 4–3 win over Tottenham Hotspur perhaps doesn’t match up. That being said, aside from being a simply bonkers game of football, it showed a side of the Blues which fans have been crying out for for years.

Chelsea were rocked early doors and found themselves 2–0 down after 11 minutes. The Blues have a horrible history of crumbling when conceding early, but they showed real resilience here and fired home four goals in response. They may have ended up conceding three on the day, but Chelsea held firm and ground out a much-needed victory.

It would be easy to champion one of Chelsea’s goal-drenched performances in the Conference League. No game produced more xG than the 8–0 victory over Armenian side Noah, but we will tolerate no slander towards a club who celebrated the Blues’ success in the tournament every step of the way. Friends for life.

Similarly, the 3–1 win over Liverpool towards the end of the season was impressive for Chelsea but must be viewed with the reality that Arne Slot’s Reds were already on the beach after wrapping up the title.

Honourable mentions: Noah [H], Brighton [H], Liverpool [H].

Chelsea 2024–25 Signing of the Season

Pedro Neto

A solid debut season from Neto. / IMAGO/Action Plus

Chelsea brought in no fewer than 12 players across the season, and truthfully, very few can be considered bona-fide successes. Pedro Neto gets the nod after proving a reliable addition to the squad following his £54 million ($69 million) move from Wolves in the summer.

Neto ended the season with 45 appearances, 33 stars, six goals and nine assists across all competitions, featuring prominently and popping up with a respectable share of goal contributions in his debut year.

Credit should be shown towards Tosin Adarabioyo, the free signing from Fulham. A reliable squad player and a respected figure in the dressing room, it was a smart piece of business to snap him up.

Honourable mention: Tosin Adarabioyo.

Chelsea 2024–25 Most Improved Player

Enzo Fernández

Enzo Fernández enjoyed an excellent season. / IMAGO/Sportimage

In similar fashion to Caicedo, midfield partner Enzo Fernández is plagued by the weight of his price tag. The Argentina international took a little while to get up to speed in the Premier League and he was even dropped early in the season when it appeared as though Maresca was not interested in working with him.

Fernández responded to that setback about as well as fans could have hoped. He looked fitter, healthier and happier on the pitch than we have ever seen him, and that translated into performances on the pitch. The vice-captain ended the campaign with 14 assists and a further eight goals, having excelled in a more-advanced position under Maresca.

We cannot end this section without a mention of Trevoh Chalobah. Discarded two summers in a row, the academy graduate was brought back in January and played a vital role in qualifying for the Champions League. He could hardly have done more to prove he deserves a long-term spot in this squad, but whether he’ll actually be given that is a different matter entirely.

Honourable mentions: Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah.

Chelsea 2024–25 Disappointment of the Season

Christopher Nkunku

Nkunku‘s time at Chelsea appears to be over. / IMAGO/Mikolaj Barbanell

Mykhailo Mudryk was banned from playing in December, so the fact Christopher Nkunku gets the nod here speaks volumes over just how disappointing this season was for the Frenchman.

He failed to displace Nicolas Jackson as the starting striker and also did not show Maresca enough to command a regular place out wide. As the season progressed, it became clearer and clearer that Nkunku was tumbling down the pecking order, with his performances on the pitch rarely meriting a boost in the standings.

Nkunku was simply devastating during his time with RB Leipzig, and yet he is set to depart Stamford Bridge without showing anything remotely similar.

Dishonourable mentions: João Félix, Mykhailo Mudryk.

Chelsea 2024–25 Most Appearances

Chelsea 2024–25 Top Scorers

Chelsea 2024–25 Top Assisters

Chelsea 2024–25 Record in All Competitions