The 2008–09 season was

Chelsea Football Club Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. The ...

's 95th competitive season, 17th consecutive season in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

and 103rd year in existence as a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club.

Kits

Supplier:

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

/ Sponsor:

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

Season summary

After again finishing second to

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in the

the previous season, Chelsea sacked their manager

Avram Grant Avraham "Avram" Grant ( he, אברהם "אברם" גרנט; born Avraham Granat; ) is an Israeli professional football manager. He has spent the majority of his career coaching and managing in Israel, winning a number of national league and cup ...

, replacing him with the Brazilian

Luiz Felipe Scolari Luiz Felipe Scolari (; born 9 November 1948), also known as Felipão ("Big Phil"), is a Brazilian football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Athletico Paranaense. Scolari was a defender during his playing days, and notab ...

, who had managed the Portugal national team at

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

that lost in the quarter finals to Germany. The first few months of his management went according to plan, as Scolari's narrow 4–1–4–1 formation, using

Ashley Cole Ashley Cole (born 20 December 1980) is an English football coach and former player who is currently a first-team coach at Premier League club Everton. As a player, he played as a left-back, most notably for Arsenal and Chelsea. Cole is consi ...

and new arrival

José Bosingwa José Bosingwa da Silva (born 24 August 1982) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a right-back. An attacking fullback, his pace and ability to get up and down the flanks created problems for the opposition. He spent most of his prof ...

as wing-backs, initially took the league by storm, leaving Chelsea top ahead of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

after 13 games. By the end of November, however, Scolari's Chelsea began to lose their form due to exhaustion. They suffered a 3–1 defeat away to

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

in the Champions League and being eliminated from the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...

by Championship side

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

on penalties. In the league, they had a 0–0 draw at home to

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

, (who were later to be relegated). Chelsea lost a home league game for the first time since 2004 (and 86 matches) when they lost to Liverpool, and a second home league defeat to rivals

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

dropped Chelsea to second place. Chelsea qualified for the knock-out stages of the Champions League with a 2–1 victory against Romanian champions

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ), is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, which competes in the Liga I. It was founded in 1907 as ''Kolozsvári Vas ...

at Stamford Bridge in the final match of the group. During the winter months, they drew against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

and

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

. Chelsea suffered defeats away to

and Liverpool, which left them in fourth place during February which would mean a Champions League place would not be certain. Long-term injuries to

Michael Essien Michael Kojo Essien (born 3 December 1982) is a Ghanaian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder and is currently a member of Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjælland, Nordsjælland's coaching staff. He was ...

and

Joe Cole Joseph John Cole (born 8 November 1981) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger in the Premier League, Ligue 1, League One and United Soccer League. He is regarded as one ...

marked the period while

Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at ...

was not included frequently. Chelsea sacked Scolari, replacing him with Russia national team manager

Guus Hiddink Guus Hiddink (; born 8 November 1946) is a Dutch former football manager and professional player. He enjoyed a long career playing as a midfielder in his native Netherlands. Retired as player in 1982, Hiddink went into management, leading both c ...

for the remainder of the season. Hiddink's regenerative effect was immediate, with four-straight league wins, including a vital 1–0 victory away to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

in his first game in charge, moving Chelsea into the top three. Eleven wins in the team's last 13 league games, marked by a 4–1 victory over Arsenal away at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity ...

, finally secured third place in the league, and Champions League football for a seventh consecutive season. Although Chelsea's title challenge was already realistically over when he arrived, Hiddink led Chelsea to their fifth Champions League semi-final, knocking out

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

and Liverpool before they were eliminated by

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

away goals The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

in the semi-final, with the performance of second leg referee

Tom Henning Øvrebø Tom Henning Øvrebø (born 26 June 1966) is a Norwegian former football referee. He has been a UEFA Elite referee, having refereed matches in the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. Øvrebø has also worked as a qualified psychologist ou ...

proving particularly controversial. Despite the Champions League exit, the season culminated in a trip to

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

, with Chelsea's final game of 2008–09 contested against Everton in the

2009 FA Cup Final The 2009 FA Cup Final was the 128th final of the world's oldest domestic football cup competition, the FA Cup. The final was played at Wembley Stadium in London on 30 May 2009 and marked the third time that the final has been staged at the stad ...

. Chelsea won 2–1, winning the

for the fifth time in their history.

Key dates

*24.05.08 –

is sacked as Chelsea manager. *29.05.08 – Chelsea terminate assistant manager

Henk ten Cate Hendrik Willem ten Cate (born 9 December 1954) is a Dutch football manager and former professional player. In the 2005–06 season, he was assistant to Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona when the team won the UEFA Champions League and La Liga titles. ...

's contract. *11.06.08 – Chelsea name

as new manager, with his contract officially starting on 1 July 2008. *03.08.08 – Chelsea thrash

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

5–0 to take third place in the preseason

Russian Railways Cup Russian Railways Cup (russian: Кубок РЖД) was an annual pre-season football tournament, held in Moscow and hosted by FC Lokomotiv Moscow. The first edition of the tournament took place in 2007. Dutch club PSV Eindhoven won the title afte ...

. *17.08.08 – Chelsea start their

2008–09 Premier League The 2008–09 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 17th season since the establishment of the Premier League in 1992. Manchester United became champions for the 11th time on the penultimate weeken ...

campaign with an emphatic 4–0 home victory over

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. *15.09.08 – Assistant manager

Steve Clarke ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

leaves Chelsea to become number two under

Gianfranco Zola Gianfranco Zola (; born 5 July 1966) is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played predominantly as a forward. He was most recently the assistant manager of Chelsea. He spent the first decade of his playing career playing in ...

. *16.09.08 – Chelsea defeat

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

4–0 at

in the opening match of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

. *18.09.08 –

Ray Wilkins Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

is appointed assistant manager of Chelsea, in place of the departed Steve Clarke. *21.09.08 – Exactly four months after the 2008 Champions League final, Chelsea draw 1–1 at home against

in the

. *24.09.08 – For the third time in a row, Chelsea start a competition with a 4–0 win, beating

4–0 away at

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, England, which is the home of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park remains as the only home football ground in Portsmouth FC's entire history. The early Fratton Park was designed by local architect A ...

in the

. *26.10.08 – Chelsea lose 1–0 against

at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League. Chelsea's home unbeaten run ends after an astonishing 4 years, 8 months and 86 games. *12.11.08 – Chelsea lose 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw in extra time against

at home in the fourth round of the

. *30.11.08 – Chelsea lose 2–1 against

at home in the Premier League after a

Robin van Persie Robin van Persie (; born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional footballer who played as a striker. Regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, Van Persie was known for his excellent technique and ball co ...

brace. Replays later show the Dutchman's first goal to be offside. *09.12.08 – Chelsea fight back to win 2–1 against

in the

at home. With the win, they secure second place in Group A and advance to the First knockout round. *03.01.09 – Chelsea draw 1–1 against

Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

side

in the third round of the

at Stamford Bridge. *11.01.09 – Chelsea lose 3–0 against Manchester United in the Premier League at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

, their first away loss in the Premier League this season. *17.01.09 – Chelsea snatch a crucial 2–1 home victory against

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

in the Premier League after two last minute goals from

Juliano Belletti Juliano Haus Belletti (born 20 June 1976) is a Brazilian association football, football Coach (sport), coach and former player who mostly played as a right back (association football), right back. He is the current coach of São Paulo Futebol Cl ...

and

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...

. Lampard also makes his 400th appearance for Chelsea. *01.02.09 – Chelsea lose 2–0 against Liverpool at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

in the Premier League by way of two late

Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid Juvenil A. Due to his consistent goalscoring rate as a young player, ...

goals after Frank Lampard is incorrectly sent off in the 60th minute. *09.02.09 – Due to the team's poor run of form, endangering Chelsea's hopes of Champions League qualification for the following season, the Chelsea board dismiss Luiz Felipe Scolari from his position as manager with immediate effect.

is named as caretaker manager while a suitable replacement for Scolari is found. *11.02.09 – Russian national manager

is named as temporary Chelsea manager until the end of the season. *14.02.09 – With Ray Wilkins in charge as caretaker manager, a

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (; born 14 March 1979) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and retired Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. As a player, he regularly fe ...

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

against

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

Vicarage Road Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of championship club Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200. History It has been the home of Watford since 1922, when the club moved from Cassi ...

gives Chelsea a 3–1 victory and a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals against

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

makes his return from the bench after six months out of action due to an ACL

injury An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, o ...

. *21.02.09 – In Guus Hiddink's first match as manager, a Nicolas Anelka goal and a gritty Chelsea performance bring about a vital 1–0 win against

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway stations ...

, Chelsea's first Premier League victory there since 1998–99. With it, Chelsea overtake Villa to reclaim third place in the table. *25.02.09 – Chelsea end the first leg of their Champions League first knockout round tie against

with a slight advantage, winning the first ever competitive meeting between the clubs 1–0 by a

goal. The match also marks

Petr Čech Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He also plays semi-professional ice hockey as a goaltender for Chelmsford Chieftains. Described by numerous players, pundits and managers as o ...

's 200th appearance for Chelsea. *28.02.09 – A

John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa. He was most recently the assi ...

volley and a late Frank Lampard header seal a 2–1 victory for

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

over

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

in the Premier League. While Liverpool's 2–0 loss to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

the Riverside The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since it opened in 1995. Its current capacity is 34,742, all seated, although there is provisional planning permission in place t ...

returns Chelsea to second place,

Michael Mancienne Michael Ian Mancienne (born 8 January 1988) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. Born in England, he represented the Seychelles national team. Schooled primarily as a centre back, Mancienne can also play as a defensive ...

makes his first ever Premier League start at

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, John Terry's goal makes him the highest scoring defender in Chelsea history, and Frank Lampard joins George Mills as Chelsea's joint sixth all-time scorer with 125 goals. *10.03.09 – A tempestuous 2–2 second leg draw at the

Stadio Olimpico di Torino The Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino ( en, Grande Torino Olympic Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Turin, Italy. It is the home ground of Serie A club Torino Football Club. The stadium is located in Piazzale Grande Torino, in the distr ...

against Juventus, with goals scored by Michael Essien in his first start since September and a reborn Didier Drogba, gives Chelsea a 3–2 victory on aggregate in their Champions League first knockout round clash, sending them through to the

quarter-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

of the competition. *08.04.09 – Chelsea claim a commanding 3–1 win in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie with Liverpool at Anfield, recovering from an early Fernando Torres goal to score twice from the head of

Branislav Ivanović Branislav Ivanović ( sr-Cyrl, Бранислав Ивановић, ; born 22 February 1984) is a Serbian former professional footballer. A versatile defender, Ivanović played as a right back, although he can also play as a centre back. Ivanovi ...

, with a reborn Didier Drogba capping off the scoring. Liverpool captain

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player, who most recently managed club Aston Villa. Described by pundits and fellow professionals as one of his generation's greatest players, Ge ...

is notably marked out of the game by Michael Essien. *11.04.09 – Chelsea take a 4–0 lead after 63 minutes against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League, scoring through

Michael Ballack Michael Ballack (; born 26 September 1976) is a German former professional footballer. He is among the top goal scorers in the history of the German national team. Ballack wore the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for, except 1. FC ...

, a double from Didier Drogba and a penalty from Frank Lampard, for Bolton to surprisingly surge back into the game, scoring three goals in an eight-minute span. Although Bolton come close to equalising in injury-time, Chelsea just manage to hold off their comeback to scrape a 4–3 victory. *14.04.09 – The second leg of Chelsea's Champions League quarter-final match with Liverpool ends in a stunning 4–4 draw. After a clever

Fábio Aurélio Fábio Aurélio Rodrigues (born 24 September 1979) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played for Grêmio, São Paulo, Valencia and Liverpool. He played as either a left back or left winger and represented Brazil at under-17 and ...

free-kick and a

Xabi Alonso Xabier Alonso Olano (, ; born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish football coach and former professional player who is currently the head coach of Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his hom ...

penalty give Liverpool a 0–2 lead in the first 30 minutes, Chelsea fight back in the second half to make the score 3–2 with goals from Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard sandwiching a trademark

Alex Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple pe ...

cannonball free-kick. Two more goals from

Lucas Lucas or LUCAS may refer to: People * Lucas (surname) * Lucas (given name) Arts and entertainment * Luca Family Singers, also known as "lucas ligner en torsk" * ''Lucas'' (album) (2007), an album by Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities * ''L ...

and

Dirk Kuyt Dirk Kuijt (anglicised to Kuyt, ; born 22 July 1980) is a Dutch former professional footballer and was the head coach of Eerste Divisie side ADO Den Haag. Originally starting out as a striker, he played much of his career as a winger. Kuyt beg ...

give Liverpool renewed hope in progression, but a second Lampard strike puts the tie to bed. The tie ends 7–5 to Chelsea on aggregate, leaving them to play a rampant

in the

semi-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

, Chelsea's fifth attendance at this stage in six seasons.

's yellow card in this game rules him out of the first leg of that tie, leaving Chelsea without a recognised

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

to field at the Camp Nou. *18.04.09 – A mistake by goalkeeper

Łukasz Fabiański Łukasz Marek Fabiański (born 18 April 1985) is a Polish professional association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for club West Ham United F.C., West Ham United. He also played for the Poland na ...

gifts Didier Drogba an 84th-minute winner in Chelsea's

FA Cup semi-final The FA Cup semi-finals are played to determine which teams will contest the FA Cup Final. They are the penultimate phase of the FA Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world. Location The semi-finals have always been contested at neutr ...

clash against Arsenal at

, sending Chelsea to a tense 2–1 victory after a goal by Florent Malouda equalises

Theo Walcott Theo James Walcott (born 16 March 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Southampton and previously for the English national team. Walcott is a product of the Southampton Academy and started his career with So ...

's early strike. Chelsea consequently reach their ninth FA Cup final, to be contested against Everton on 30 May. *25.04.09 – Petr Čech's save from

Mark Noble Mark James Noble (born 8 May 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder and is well remembered for his time at English club West Ham United, spending eighteen years with the club. Apart from two sh ...

's penalty secures Chelsea a 1–0 Premier League victory over West Ham United at Upton Park after

Salomon Kalou Salomon Armand Magloire Kalou (born 5 August 1985) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a forward and winger for Djiboutian club Arta/Solar7. He previously played for Feyenoord from 2003 to 2006 and Chelsea from 2006 to 2012. Wh ...

scores his ninth goal of the season before giving away a spot-kick at the other end.

starts his second Premier League game of the season, while

makes an experimental appearance at

in preparation for Chelsea's visit to the Camp Nou. *28.4.09 – A masterful defensive display by Chelsea sees them become the first team not to concede a goal at the Camp Nou this season in an intriguing 0–0 draw with Barcelona, the first leg of the clubs' Champions League semi-final tie. Petr Čech shrugs off his recent media criticism with a string of important saves and despite Barcelona's domination on possession, Didier Drogba has an excellent chance to secure an away goal for Chelsea, only to be stopped by a double save from

Víctor Valdés Víctor Valdés Arribas (; born 14 January 1982) is a Spanish football coach and former professional player, who played as a goalkeeper. Valdés was considered fiercely competitive and demanding, demonstrating great mental strength and concen ...

at the end of the first half. *02.5.09 – John Terry's 400th game for Chelsea, a

West London derby The West London derby is the name given to a association football, football List of sports rivalries in the United Kingdom, derby played between any two of Brentford F.C., Brentford, Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, Fulham F.C., Fulham and Queens Park Rang ...

at Stamford Bridge against Fulham in the Premier League, ends in a 3–1 victory to the home side following goals from Gallic trio Nicolas Anelka, Florent Malouda, and Didier Drogba. The asymmetric 4–3–3 formation used by Chelsea in this game, with Anelka playing more like a second striker, was Guus Hiddink's preference for the remainder of the season. *06.5.09 – A controversial 1–1 draw in the second leg of Chelsea's Champions League semi-final tie against Barcelona at Stamford Bridge eliminates Chelsea from the competition on the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaker, tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the ...

, sending Barcelona to

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

to play Manchester United in Rome. Essien's brilliant left footed volley early in the game gives Chelsea the lead, but unclinical finishing and four viable

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

appeals turned down by

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

referee

allow Barcelona to equalise in the ninety-third minute with their only shot on target all game, a strike from outside the penalty area by

Andrés Iniesta Andrés Iniesta Luján (; born 11 May 1984) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and is the captain of J1 League club Vissel Kobe. Considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Iniesta has spent most of his ...

, despite the earlier sending off of

Eric Abidal Eric Sylvain Abidal (; born 11 September 1979) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left-back or centre-back. In his career, he played mainly for Lyon and Barcelona, winning 18 trophies with both teams combined, including t ...

. Incensed by the referee's terrible performance, Chelsea players surround and criticise Øvrebø after the final whistle, with Didier Drogba controversially labelling the result "a fucking disgrace" on live international television. *10.5.09 – Chelsea shake off their post-Barcelona blues with an emphatic 4–1 victory against Arsenal at the

in the Premier League. After surviving an early bout of Arsenal pressure, Chelsea take a 3–0 lead through an Alex header, a long range shot from Nicolas Anelka against his former club, and a

Kolo Touré Kolo Abib Touré (born 19 March 1981) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who is the manager of Championship side Wigan Athletic. He played as a defender for Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Celtic and the Ivory Coas ...

own goal.

Nicklas Bendtner Nicklas Bendtner (; born 16 January 1988) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a forward. His preferred position was centre-forward, but he has also played on the right side of attack, and occasionally on the left. A large, ...

pulls one back for the home side, but a tap in from Florent Malouda completes the rout. The result ends the Gunners' 21 game unbeaten run in the league, and is the joint best away result against Arsenal in the league in Chelsea's history. Chelsea will finish the league season in at least third place, securing automatic Champions League qualification for 2009–10. *17.05.09 – Chelsea's last home game of the season against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge ends in a 2–0 victory, with goals scored by Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka. The game is marked by an end-of-season party atmosphere as fans chant repeatedly for Guus Hiddink to remain at the club, criticising the club's apparent pursuit of

manager

Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti , (born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of La Liga club Real Madrid. Regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, Ancelotti is the most decorated manager ...

to replace Hiddink over the summer. *24.05.09 – The last game of Chelsea's 2008–09 season ends in a 3–2 victory against

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

away at the

Stadium of Light The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. ...

. In preparation for the

FA Cup final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...

against Everton the following Sunday, Frank Lampard and Alex are rested, and Sunderland's still uncertain survival in the Premier League leads to a tense first half. Nicolas Anelka's long-range curler early in the second half, his 19th league goal of the season, secures him the

Premier League Golden Boot The Premier League Golden Boot is an annual association football award presented to the leading goalscorer in the Premier League. For sponsorship purposes, it was called the Carling Golden Boot from 1994 to 2001, the Barclaycard Golden Boot from ...

ahead of

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

. Salomon Kalou replies to

Kieran Richardson Kieran Edward Richardson (born 21 October 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger, left-back, or central midfielder. Richardson began his career as a trainee at West Ham United, going on to play senior footba ...

's equaliser, and, despite

Kenwyne Jones Kenwyne Joel Jones CM (born 5 October 1984) is a Trinidadian football manager and retired professional player who played as a forward. He currently manages the Trinidad and Tobago women's national team. He began his football career with Joe P ...

' late header, Ashley Cole's first goal of the season wins the game for Chelsea. *30.05.09 – Chelsea win the

with a 2–1 victory over Merseysiders Everton, who were chasing their first FA Cup since their victory over Manchester United in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

. A

Louis Saha Louis Laurent Saha (born 8 August 1978) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Saha was capped 20 times for the France national team and scored four goals. A former scholar at the Clairefontaine football academy, h ...

goal after 25 seconds becomes the fastest in FA Cup history, but Chelsea quickly recover with a Florent Malouda cross finding the head of Didier Drogba. Chelsea continue to dominate before finally taking the lead in the 70th minute, after Frank Lampard escapes his marker Phil Neville for the first time in the game and unleashes a shot from 25 yards. A Malouda shot from 40 yards is incorrectly judged not to have crossed the line after rebounding from the crossbar, but Chelsea hold on for a famous victory. Guus Hiddink ends his short tenure as Chelsea manager with silverware.

Squad

First-team squad

Reserve squad

(''On loan at

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

'') (''On loan at

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

'') (''On loan at

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...

'') (''On loan at

Real Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...

'') (''On loan at

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

'') (''On loan at

MK Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

'') (''On loan at

De Graafschap VBV De Graafschap () is a professional football club from Doetinchem, Netherlands, playing in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football. It was formed on 1 February 1954 and they play their home games at the De Vijverberg stadium. ...

'') (''On loan at

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

'')

Youth squad

UEFA Champions League squad

''(from List B)'' ''(from List B)'' ''(from List B)'' ''(from List B)'' ''(from List B)'' Chelsea FC Champions League Squad List
UEFA

Club

Coaching staff

Start formations

Top scorers

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.

Disciplinary record

Includes all competitive matches. Players with 1 card or more included only. * = 1 suspension withdrawn
** = 2 suspensions withdrawn

Overall

{, class="wikitable" , - , Games played , , 59 (38

, 12

, 7

and 2

) , - , Games won , , 37 (25

, 5

, 6

and 1

) , - , Games drawn , , 15 (8

, 6

and 1

) , - , Games lost , , 7 (5

, 1

and 1

) , - , Goals scored , , 110 , - , Goals conceded , , 44 , - , Goal difference , , +66 , - , Yellow cards , , 91 , - , Red cards , , 5 (2 withdrawn) , - , Worst discipline , ,

(10 , 2 (1 withdrawn)) , - , rowspan="2", Best result , , 5–0 (A) v

–

– 2008.10.18 , - , 5–0 (H) v

–

– 2008.11.01 , - , Worst result , , 0–3 (A) v

–

– 2009.01.11 , - , Most appearances , ,

(57 appearances) , - , Top scorer , ,

(25 goals) , - , Points , , 126/177 (71.2%) , -

Honours

Individuals

{, class="wikitable" border="1" , - ! Name ! Number ! Country ! Award , - ,

, 1 ,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, UEFA European Club Goalkeeper of the Year (2008), Czech Golden Ball (2008) , - ,

, 3 ,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Samsung Players' Player of the Year (2008–09) , - ,

, 5 ,

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, Goal of the Season (2008–09) v

(

Semi finals) 6 May 2009 , - ,

, 8 ,

, UEFA European Club Midfielder of the Year (2008), October Premier League Player of the Month (2008), Chelsea Player of the Year (2008–09) , - ,

Deco Anderson Luís de Souza (born 27 August 1977), known as Deco (), is a retired professional footballer who primarily played as an attacking or central midfielder. Born and raised in Brazil, he acquired Portuguese citizenship and played for Po ...

, 20 ,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, August Premier League Player of the Month (2008) , - ,

, 21 ,

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

, CAF Young Player of the Year (2008) , - ,

, 26 ,

, UEFA European Club Defender of the Year (2008), FIFPro World XI (2007–08), UEFA Team of the Year (2008) Special Commitment Award (2008–09) for his 10 years of first team service. , - ,

, 39 ,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, November Premier League Player of the Month (2008), Barclays Golden Boot (2008–09), PFA Team of the Year (2009) , - ,

, 42 ,

, Chelsea Young Player of the Year (2008–09) , -

References

External links

Chelsea FC official websiteChelsea FC on Soccerbase
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chelsea F.C. Season 2008-09 2008-09 2008–09 Premier League by team