Chelsea are on the verge of missing out on European football for the 2023/24 campaign following a disappointing first season under new co-owner Todd Boehly.
The Blues are 11th in the Premier League table and are 12 points off a potential Europa Conference League spot, and 20 off the final Champions League place.
Both Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter have been sacked by Chelsea this season, with former player and manager Frank Lampard taking on the interim role until the end of 2022/23.
He was tasked with leading an unlikely challenge to win this season's Champions League — and thereby qualify for the competition next term — but those dreams were ended by Real Madrid.
MORE: Highlights, analysis from Chelsea vs. Real Madrid in Champions League quarterfinal
Chelsea out of Europe: Last time Blues failed to qualify
Despite a spirited first-half performance, Chelsea could not produce a second-leg comeback in their Champions League quarterfinal tie with Real Madrid. Goals after the break from Rodrygo gave the holders a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge and a 4-0 aggregate victory.
It means Chelsea are in real danger of completely missing out on European football in 2023/24 — something that has rarely happened in the past 25 years.
The last time Chelsea did not play in any sort of European competition was in 2016/17. They finished 10th in the Premier League in 2015/16, the season in which Jose Mourinho was sacked as manager for the second time, and they also failed to win a cup competition in that season.
Of course, missing out on Europe ended up being a positive: without the distraction and extra fixtures of a European competition, they won the 2016/17 Premier League title under Antonio Conte.
When did Chelsea last fail to qualify for Champions League?
Since the 1999/2000 season — their first appearance in the competition — Chelsea have missed out on Champions League football on just five occasions.
Only 2016/17 had no European football at all at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea seasons without Champions League football since 1999/2000
| Season | League finish in previous season | European Competition | Eliminated | League finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000/01 | 5th | UEFA Cup/Europa League | Round 1 | 6th |
| 2001/02 | 6th | UEFA Cup/Europa League | Round 2 | 6th |
| 2002/03 | 6th | UEFA Cup/Europa League | Round 2 | 4th |
| 2016/17 | 10th | — | — | 1st |
| 2018/19 | 5th | Europa League | Winners | 3rd |
Chelsea's record in the season after failing to qualify for the Champions League has been quite good. Conte won the Premier League in the 2016/17 season, while Maurizio Sarri secured a Europa League title two seasons later (2018/19).
Although no European football will have financial drawbacks, it could be exactly what a new manager needs with this young squad.
What went wrong for Chelsea this season?
After spending over £500 million ($621 million) across the summer and January transfer windows, where did it go wrong for Chelsea?
Despite Potter's eye-catching style at Brighton, he could not fix the same problems that Tuchel faced. Chelsea have scored just 30 times in 31 league games, at least 14 fewer than all 10 teams above them in the standings.
The Blues were drawn against Manchester City in the third round of the EFL Cup. They lost 2-0 after Potter fielded a heavily rotated side against a relatively strong City team.
The two sides met again in the third round of the FA Cup in January. Pep Guardiola's side won 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium in a very straightforward game.
A succession of injuries to first-team players did not help Potter's cause, but poor results and the stale nature of their performances eventually led to his dismissal as head coach. Lampard was drafted in to oversee a respectable end to the season, but he has been unable to coax coherent team performances out of an expensively assembled group of players that did not appear to be signed with a long-term vision in mind.
Whoever takes over as the new full-time manager in 2023/24, they will have a lot of work to do to turn Chelsea back into a side capable of challenging for the biggest prizes. Still, after the acrimony of Mourinho's final season in charge, Conte was able to turn Chelsea into title winners at the first time of asking — could another such transformation take place in 2023/24?