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. ...

is an English professional football club based in Fulham,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The club's involvement in international competitions dates back to the 1950s. As champions of England, the club was invited to participate in the inaugural European Champions' Cup in 1955, but were denied entry by

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...

. Three years later, Chelsea made their European debut against

Copenhagen XI Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, on 30 September 1958. Chelsea won their first European title in 1971, defeating Real Madrid to win the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

. In 1998, they won the same trophy again, followed by the

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

later that year. In 2012, Chelsea won 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 competi ...

, becoming the fifth English team, and the first and only team from London to date, to win the competition. In 2013, Chelsea won the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

and became the fourth club to win all three main UEFA club competitions. Due to a change in competition dates, with the final of the Champions League being played a week after the Europa League final, Chelsea held both the Champions and Europa League trophies simultaneously, the only side to ever do so. Chelsea once again lifted the Europa League trophy in 2019. In 2021, Chelsea won their second Champions League title, giving them the distinction of being the only club to have won all three major European competitions twice. They are presently England's second-most successful club in UEFA competitions, with eight trophies in total.

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 a ...

holds the club record for appearances in European competitions with 124, while striker Didier Drogba is the club's leading European goalscorer with 36 goals. Chelsea's biggest European win is 13–0, which came against Jeunesse Hautcharage in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1971. Their 21–0 aggregate win over the same opposition is a joint-record in European football.

History

European Cup / UEFA Champions League

Chelsea were invited to take part in the inaugural European Cup, now UEFA Champions League, in 1955 after they claimed their first league title the previous season. However, Chelsea were pressured into withdrawing from the tournament by

. They had thus missed the chance to become the first English club to participate in what is now the most prestigious club competition in European football. It was not until 44 years later that they would make their debut in the Champions League. The 1999–2000 season saw the club progress through the group stage and the second group stage to reach the quarter-finals where they faced

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 ...

of Spain. Chelsea won the first leg 3–1 at Stamford Bridge with

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 i ...

scoring the opener and

Tore André Flo Tore André Flo (born 15 June 1973) is a Norwegian former professional football striker and coach who is the manager of 1. divisjon club Sogndal. He was capped 76 times, scoring 23 goals for Norway, and represented his country in 1998 FIFA Wor ...

a brace. However, they were beaten 5–1 in Spain two weeks later and knocked out of the competition 6–4 on aggregate, thus ended their first Champions League journey. Chelsea qualified for the 2003–04 Champions League by finishing fourth in the

2002–03 FA Premier League The 2002–03 FA Premier League (known as the FA Barclaycard Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th season of the Premier League, the top division in English football. The first matches were played on 17 August 2002 and the last were ...

. Their place in the Champions League was secured on the final day of the season, beating fifth-place

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 populat ...

2–1 at home. The game was dubbed 'the £20m match' as Chelsea were only ahead of Liverpool on goal difference before kickoff; a win for either side would see them qualify for the following season's Champions League at the expense of the other.

Jesper Grønkjær Jesper Grønkjær (; born 12 August 1977) is a Danish former professional footballer. A pacey winger, Grønkjær played primarily on the right or left wing, or as a second striker. He played a total 400 league games for a number of European cl ...

scored the winner in the 26th minute. The goal would later seem by many as the most important in the club's history and said to be worth £1 billion, as many believe had Liverpool won on that day the subsequent takeover by a Russian billionaire

Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (, ; he, רומן ארקדיביץ' אברמוביץ'; born 24 October 1966) is a Russian oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea, a Premier League football club in London, England, and is the ...

would never have happened. Chelsea reached the semi-finals after defeating

derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

Arsenal 2–1 at

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was sit ...

. Having not beaten Arsenal since November 1998, they went into the second leg with a 1–1 home draw.

José Antonio Reyes José Antonio Reyes Calderón (; 1 September 1983 – 1 June 2019) was a Spanish professional footballer who played mainly as a left winger and also as a forward. He made his debut for Sevilla aged 16 and signed for English club Arsenal in ...

' goal before the half time gave the Gunners the lead, however Chelsea managed to come back and won in the second half through

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 ...

's goal within six minutes of the restart and

Wayne Bridge Wayne Michael Bridge (born 5 August 1980) is an English former footballer who played as a left back. A graduate of the Southampton Academy where he made his debut in 1998, Bridge also played for Chelsea, West Ham, Manchester City, Fulham and ...

's winning goal in the 87th minute. The first leg of the semi-final however turned out to be a disaster for Chelsea as they were defeated 3–1 by ten-man

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

Stade Louis II The Stade Louis II () is a stadium located in the Fontvieille district of Monaco. It serves primarily as a venue for football, being the home of AS Monaco and the Monaco national football team. The stadium is most notable for its distinctive ...

stadium. Two weeks later at Stamford Bridge, they were leading 2–0 shortly before the halftime. Had they kept this score to the final whistle, they would go through on

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 ...

. However, Monaco eventually came back in the second half and the game ended in a 2-2 draw. As a consequence,

Claudio Ranieri Claudio Ranieri Grande Ufficiale OMRI (; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian football manager and former player. He will be the new head coach of club Cagliari from 1 January 2023. Ranieri began his managerial career in the lower leagues in ...

was sacked at the end of the season. Didier Drogba Champions League Winner

Chelsea came very close to winning the Champions League several times during the 2000s. The closest they came was in the 2008 final, held at the

Luzhniki Stadium Luzhniki Stadium ( rus, стадион «Лужники», p=stədʲɪˈon lʊʐnʲɪˈkʲi, ''Stadion Luzhniki'') is the national stadium of Russia, located in its capital city, Moscow. The full name of the stadium is Grand Sports Arena of the ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. This was the first ever all-English Champions League/European Cup final, with Chelsea facing Manchester United. The game was tightly contested, with the final score after extra time 1–1. In the

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

, Chelsea were one kick away from winning the Champions League (

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 ...

having saved

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 ...

's penalty). However, Chelsea's captain

slipped on his run up for the final penalty and his shot hit the post.

Edwin van der Sar Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch football executive and former professional player who is currently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, with whom he began his senior playing career in the early 1990s; he is considered to be a m ...

then saved

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (; born 14 March 1979) is a French professional football manager and retired player who played as a forward. As a player, he regularly featured in his country's national team, often scoring at crucial moments. Known f ...

's spot kick and Manchester United were crowned European Champions for the third time in their history. The following season, Chelsea were on course to make their second final in two years. Following a 0–0 draw at the Camp Nou, Chelsea were beating Barcelona 1–0 at the Stamford Bridge, but Barcelona managed to score an equaliser in the 94th minute of the game. With the score at 1–1, Barcelona progressed to the 2009 Champions League Final on away goals. Numerous Chelsea players protested after the final whistle, most notable

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 ...

and Didier Drogba. Drogba shouted into television cameras that the game was "a fucking disgrace." Both players were handed bans by

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

for their actions. Chelsea would not feature in a Champions League final again until the 2012 final that was being held at the

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

Allianz Arena Allianz Arena (; known as Fußball Arena München for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely known for its exterio ...

. After eliminating

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Benfica and Barcelona, Chelsea faced German side Bayern Munich, who would be playing the final at their home ground. Bayern controlled the game for the most part, and took the lead in the 83rd minute through

Thomas Müller Thomas Müller (; born 13 September 1989) is a German professional footballer who plays for club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. A versatile player, Müller has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles – as an attacking mi ...

. Didier Drogba equalised five minutes later with a header from a corner from

Juan Mata Juan Manuel Mata García (born 28 April 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Turkish Süper Lig club Galatasaray. He mostly plays as a central attacking midfielder, but he can also play on the wing. A gr ...

. In extra time, Bayern missed several opportunities (including a penalty from former Chelsea player

Arjen Robben Arjen Robben (; born 23 January 1984) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger. He was known for his dribbling skills, speed, ball control and long-range shots. Robben is regarded as one of the best players of his gener ...

) and the game was to be decided with a penalty shoot-out. Chelsea eventually triumphed 4–3, despite Juan Mata missing their first penalty. Two Bayern Munich players,

Ivica Olić Ivica Olić (; born 14 September 1979) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who is an assistant coach of the Croatia national team. During his career, he played for German Bundesliga clubs such as Hamburger SV, VfL Wolf ...

and

Bastian Schweinsteiger Bastian Schweinsteiger (; born 1 August 1984) is a German former professional footballer who usually played as a central midfielder. Earlier in his career, he primarily played as a wide midfielder. Schweinsteiger is regarded as one of the grea ...

, failed to convert their penalties. Drogba scored the final penalty of the shootout to secure the Blues' first ever Champions League title. As title holders, Chelsea secured a place in next season's Champions League after missing out of qualification, as a result of finishing sixth in Premier League. Nine years after their Champions League triumph, Chelsea were able to secure a place in the 2021 final, which was held at

Estádio do Dragão The Estádio do Dragão (; English: Dragon Stadium) is an All-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium in Porto, Portugal, and the home ground of FC Porto since 2003. It has a seating capacity of 50,033, making it the Lis ...

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

against fellow English side Manchester City. This was the third time that two English sides would face in the final (after 2008 – which Chelsea also involved – and

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

). Despite the odds being in Manchester City's favour and City dominating the possession throughout the game, Chelsea prevailed and were crowned European champions for the second time in the club's history as

Kai Havertz Kai Lukas Havertz (born 11 June 1999) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for club Chelsea and the Germany national team. Having graduated from Bayer Leverkusen's youth academy in 2016, Havertz ...

scored the only goal of the match three minutes before half-time when he received a pass from

Mason Mount Mason Tony Mount (born 10 January 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking or central midfielder for club Chelsea and the England national team. Mount began his senior club career with Chelsea, and joined Vite ...

, which led to Havertz taking the ball round Manchester City's goalkeeper Ederson and slotting it into the net.

Records

*First international match:

v. Chelsea,

1958–60 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The second Inter-Cities Fairs Cup took place between 1958 and 1960 and was won by Barcelona for the second consecutive time in a two-legged final against Birmingham City. Once again, a number of countries sent a representative team for one of th ...

, 30 September 1958 *Biggest win in international competitions: 13–0, Chelsea v. Jeunesse Hautcharage, 1971–72 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, 29 September 1971 *Biggest defeat in international competitions: 5–0,

v. Chelsea,

1965–66 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The eighth Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was played over the 1965–66 season. The competition was won by Barcelona over two legs in an all-Spanish final against Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoz ...

, 25 May 1966 *Most appearances in international competitions:

, 124 *Most goals in international competitions: Didier Drogba, 36

Matches

''All results (home, away and neutral) list Chelsea's goal tally first.'' Colour key Key *a.e.t. =

After extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

*N =

Neutral venue In team sports, the term home advantage – also called home ground, home field, home-field advantage, home court, home-court advantage, defender's advantage or home-ice advantage – describes the benefit that the home team is said to ga ...

*a = Away goals rule *p =

Penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

Overall record

''All statistics are correct as of 18 April 2023.'' ''Including matches in UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League, European Cup Winners' Cup / UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, and each competition's associated qualifying rounds.'' Colour key

By competition

By country

By team

All-time top goal scorers

*UEL = UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League *CWC = European Cup Winners' Cup / UEFA Cup Winners' Cup *USC =

*FC = Inter-Cities Fairs Cup *FCWC = FIFA Club World Cup

Notes

References

{{English football clubs in international competitions

International International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

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 ...