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It was another eventual season for Chelsea under the ownership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
The Blues found themselves in the bottom half of the table as recently as February but produced a late season surge – including winning their final five matches – to finish sixth in the Premier League.
A return to European football was secured by Mauricio Pochettino’s side, but Man United’s triumph in the FA Cup final pushed Chelsea to drop into the Europa Conference League.
With the season now over, Mail Sport’s KIERAN GILL offers his assessment of every Chelsea player who featured in five or more Premier League games.
Mauricio Pochettino left Chelsea by mutual consent after a single season in charge of the club
Chelsea ended the season with five consecutive wins to secure a return to European football
Leicester manager Enzo Maresca is expected to become Chelsea’s next head coach
Conor Gallagher 8/10
Featured in 50 of Chelsea’s 51 matches, making him one of the few whose body refused to break down, and statistics say he was their top tackler, interceptor, dueller, runner, and more.
Now to see if Chelsea decide to sell him this summer with only a year remaining on his contract.
Conor Gallagher featured in all but one of Chelsea’s matches but doubts remain over his future
Moises Caicedo 7/10
I’m not sure there is another Chelsea player who epitomises the team’s improvement in the second half of the season better than Caicedo.
Finally, we saw what a £115million footballer can do, finishing with a goal from the halfway line on the final day. Hopefully, he will fly into next season.
Nicolas Jackson 7.5/10
The comparisons to Didier Drogba were inevitable from the moment he took the No 15 shirt. Drogba scored 10 Premier League goals in his first season at Chelsea. Jackson finished with 14, eventually toning down his addiction to silly yellow cards.
Terrific potential at the age of 22.
Cole Palmer 9/10
Chelsea’s MVP with 22 goals and 11 assists in return for their £42.5m.
My favourite game? Easy. The 4-3 against Manchester United. His equaliser in the 10th minute of stoppage time. His winner in the 11th minute.
Just another evening in the company of ‘Cold Palmer’ at Stamford Bridge.
Cole Palmer was the MVP and memorably scored the winner in a 4-3 triumph over Man United
Thiago Silva 7.5/10
Silva’s experience was invaluable to the Premier League’s youngest team and Chelsea will miss the 39-year-old Brazilian, who earned an emotional farewell at Stamford Bridge on the season’s final day.
He was often a calming influence in a back line that was chopped and changed throughout the campaign.
Raheem Sterling 6/10
It was a tough season for Sterling, harshly booed on occasion by his own supporters, most notably in the FA Cup win over Enzo Maresca’s Leicester in March.
Unfortunately for the 29-year-old, he did not start again until the campaign’s final game. But it is known that the young players look up to him so is important off the pitch.
Thiago Silva gave an emotional farewell to Chelsea and they will miss the veteran’s experience
Mykhailo Mudryk 6/10
Mudryk’s potential is remarkably high, if only a manager can coax his talent out of him.
Few full backs can live with his speed when he’s in full flow down the left-hand side, but needs work on his end product. Chelsea remain hopeful that he will eventually live up to their expectations.
Few full backs can live with Mykhailo Mudryk in full flow but he needs work on his end product
Axel Disasi 6/10
There was the occasional low moment for Disasi, such as that freak own goal against Leicester, but he grew into games as the season went on and showed his defensive nous.
Not least in the 1-1 draw at Manchester City in February when he came up with block after block.
Enzo Fernandez 6/10
Hard to judge him too harshly for the outings when he struggled given we went on to discover he was playing through the pain of an injury.
Eventually succumbed to that issue as he agreed to have groin surgery but will hope to star alongside Caicedo next campaign.
Enzo Fernandez eventually had groin surgery having been playing through the pain of an injury
Malo Gusto 8/10
With Reece James sidelined for most of the season, Gusto filled in fantastically at right back.
At £26.3m, he made himself look like a steal when charging down that flank to add to Chelsea’s attacks. It will be interesting to see what happens once club captain James is back.
Malo Gusto filled in superbly at right back with Reece James sidelined for most of the season
Djordje Petrovic 6.5/10
Went unused at the start of the season as Robert Sanchez was preferred but once he got his chance through injury, he performed well as Chelsea’s goalkeeper.
Sometimes made supporters uneasy when trying to pass out from the back, though did seem to improve at that in time.
Levi Colwill 6/10
It was a real shame for Colwill that his season became so disrupted by injuries. He was a starter throughout the first half but then joined the club’s crocked list, eventually ending the campaign with four matches as an unused substitute.
Here’s hoping for a healthy year coming up.
Noni Madueke 6.5/10
We will forgive and forget that embarrassing penalty spat which marred the 6-0 win over Everton.
Madueke is young, he’ll learn, and there were performances when he showed his talents as an attacker. He soon became vital to the team for their big end to the season.
Noni Madueke, left, was involved in an embarrassing penalty spat but later became a vital part of the team
Marc Cucurella 7/10
It was unfortunate that Mauricio Pochettino only thought to start using Cucurella as an inverted full back so late on in the season, starting from the second half at Aston Villa. It finally showed us why Pep Guardiola wanted to sign him for Manchester City. Big performances followed from then on.
Benoit Badiashile 6.5/10
Like many of Chelsea’s young players, Badiashile struggled earlier in the season but he encountered a rich vein of form in the final few weeks as European football was secured.
He gained confidence with every appearance and was able to learn from Thiago Silva while doing so.
Robert Sanchez 5.5/10
Started the season as Chelsea’s go-to goalkeeper but injury saw him hand over his gloves to Djordje Petrovic.
From December onward, he only made two starts, both in the FA Cup. There is now speculation that Chelsea will look to sign another shot-stopper this summer.
Ben Chilwell 2.5/10
Hardly the most memorable campaign for Chilwell, making only a handful of appearances here and there as he became one of those bogged down by injuries.
Chelsea are expected to look for a new left back this summer so you have to wonder what that will mean for the 27-year-old.
Ben Chilwell was bogged down by injuries and Chelsea are expected to target a new left back
Trevoh Chalobah 7.5/10
Chalobah showed his worth to Chelsea at the end of the campaign, helping them go on their run which made sure they finished sixth in the Premier League.
Finds himself in a similar situation to his fellow homegrown talent Conor Gallagher, wondering whether he will be sold this summer.
Armando Broja 2/10
Surplus to requirements as Chelsea sent him on loan to Fulham in the January window in the hope that he might impress enough to earn a move this summer. But never even scored a goal while with the Cottagers, who preferred using Rodrigo Muniz instead.
Lesley Ugochukwu 2/10
Another held back by injuries as he was unable to help the team from December onward. Started three Premier League games before all that – a 0-0 draw at Bournemouth and a 4-1 and 2-1 defeat by Newcastle and Wolves respectively.
Ian Maatsen 6/10 (9/10 for Borussia Dortmund!)
Appeared enough in the Premier League earlier in the season to earn inclusion in this list of ratings, but it was at Borussia Dortmund where he was truly allowed to excel after joining on loan in January.
Now, the left back is set to compete in the Champions League final.
Alfie Gilchrist 7/10
It is lovely for a club when one of their own shows such pride when wearing their shirt, and Chelsea got that from Gilchrist, winner of their Academy Player of the Year award.
His celebration after scoring in the 6-0 win over Everton was a wholesome moment.
Academy star Alfie Gilchrist’s celebration after scoring against Everton was a wholesome moment
Christopher Nkunku’s season was disrupted by injury but there is excitement over his potential
Christopher Nkunku 5/10
Hard to judge him truly because of how his entire campaign was curtailed by injuries, returning in time for the finale to give us a glimpse of what he can do.
We will hopefully get to see more next season because there is real excitement surrounding his potential at Chelsea.
Cesare Casadei 2/10 (5.5/10 for Leicester)
Spent the first half of the season on loan at Leicester then recalled as Chelsea’s squad lacked depth because of their injury crisis. Unfortunately for Casadei, he did not start a single match under Mauricio Pochettino and hardly got a chance to impress.
Reece James missed most of the season through injury and was sent off twice for silly reasons
Reece James 2/10
Missed most of the season through injury. Other than that cross for Nicolas Jackson to complete the comeback against Nottingham Forest, it was an unhappy campaign for James, red carded twice at Newcastle and Brighton for silly reasons.
Chelsea need their club captain back to show some leadership next season.
Carney Chukwuemeka 2/10
Started the first two Premier League games of the season but then was hardly seen for the remainder, another plagued by one injury after another. As with all of Chelsea’s injured players, we can only hope he enjoys a healthier campaign next.
