The 2020–21 season was Chelsea's 107th competitive season, 32nd consecutive season in the top flight of English football, 29th consecutive season in the Premier League, and 115th year in existence as a football club. The season covered the period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.
Prior to the 2020–21 season, Chelsea made numerous high-profile signings in the transfer market, bringing in the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech, and Thiago Silva in the close-season, as well as Édouard Mendy shortly after the season began. The Blues began this season under the management of former Chelsea player Frank Lampard, in his second season at the club. However, Lampard was sacked in January and replaced by German manager Thomas Tuchel, who guided the club to European glory, as on 29 May, Chelsea defeated fellow English side Manchester City in the Champions League final, their second title in the competition, and their first since 2012.
The season was the first since 2012–13 without Willian, who departed to Arsenal.
Kits
Starting with this season, Three UK replaced the Yokohama Rubber Company as Chelsea's shirt sponsor.
Season overview
September
Chelsea played their first game of the new Premier League season on 14 September 2020, travelling to Brighton & Hove Albion and earning a 3–1 away victory, courtesy of goals from Jorginho, Kurt Zouma and Reece James. On 20 September, Chelsea welcomed defending champions Liverpool to Stamford Bridge. Andreas Christensen was dismissed in the first half after a naive challenge on Sadio Mané, who then proceeded to score two goals inside four minutes for Liverpool, with goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga making a crucial mistake for Mané's second goal. New signing Timo Werner managed to win a penalty for Chelsea, but Jorginho had his effort saved by Alisson, his first penalty miss in nine attempts, as the match ended in a 2–0 defeat for Chelsea.
Three days later, Chelsea faced Barnsley in the EFL Cup, which ended in a 6–0 win for Chelsea, with Kai Havertz scoring a hat-trick for the Blues. Chelsea then travelled to The Hawthorns to play West Bromwich Albion. Chelsea were 3–0 down at half-time, but goals from Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and Tammy Abraham in stoppage-time managed to seal a draw as the match ended 3–3. On 29 September, Chelsea took on London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the round of 16 in the EFL Cup. Timo Werner scored his first Chelsea goal to put the Blues ahead, but Erik Lamela managed to equalise in the second half. Chelsea would go on to lose 5–4 on penalties, with Mason Mount missing the decisive penalty and Chelsea finding themselves eliminated from the EFL Cup.
Reece James' goal against Brighton was nominated for the Premier League Goal of the Month award, but was won by Leicester City's James Maddison.
October
Chelsea's first match of October was against Crystal Palace at home. After no goals in the first half, Chelsea managed to win 4–0, as Ben Chilwell registered a goal and an assist on his Premier League debut for Chelsea. Two weeks later, on 17 October, Chelsea welcomed Southampton to Stamford Bridge. Timo Werner scored his first Premier League goals for Chelsea as the Blues were leading 2–0 inside 28 minutes, with Danny Ings managing to pull a goal back for the Saints before half-time. Che Adams scored an equaliser for Southampton 57 minutes in, but Chelsea instantly responded with a Kai Havertz goal two minutes later, his first in the Premier League. Chelsea were pegged back again in the 92nd minute, with Jannik Vestergaard levelling the game, as Chelsea managed to come out of the game with a frustrating 3–3 draw. In their next two games, Chelsea drew back-to-back games 0–0, first against Sevilla at home in their first Champions League group stage game of the season, and then again away at Manchester United in the Premier League.
Chelsea then defeated Krasnodar 4–0 away in the Champions League, with Callum Hudson-Odoi, Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, and Christian Pulisic all on target for the Blues. In Chelsea's final game of the month on 31 October, they defeated Burnley 3–0 away, with Hakim Ziyech scoring and assisting on his first Premier League start, with additional goals from Kurt Zouma and Timo Werner sealing the win for Chelsea.
As a result of his performances throughout the month, Thiago Silva was nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award, which was eventually won by Tottenham Hotspur's Heung-min Son, and Timo Werner's first goal against Southampton was nominated for Premier League Goal of the Month, but was instead given to West Ham United's Manuel Lanzini.
November
Chelsea begun November with a 3–0 home victory over Rennes in the Champions League, with the goals coming from two Timo Werner penalties and a Tammy Abraham strike. Three days later, in Chelsea's last match before the November international break, Chelsea faced bottom of the league Sheffield United at home, who had lost seven out of their first eight Premier League games this season. The match ended in a comfortable 4–1 win for the Blues, which saw Hakim Ziyech pick up two assists.
After the international break, Chelsea returned on 21 November to face Newcastle United at St James' Park. Chelsea ran out 2–0 winners, with a Federico Fernández own goal and a goal from Tammy Abraham sealing the win for Chelsea, marking the first time Chelsea were top of the Premier League under Frank Lampard. Chelsea won their sixth consecutive game in a row in their next match against Rennes in the Champions League, which saw Callum Hudson-Odoi and Olivier Giroud on the scoresheet in a 2–1 away victory, sealing qualification for the Champions League round of 16. Chelsea next had inform London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to play at Stamford Bridge, who had already eliminated Chelsea from the EFL Cup back in September. The match ended in goalless 0–0 draw, which saw Tottenham ascend to the top of the league.
Ben Chilwell's performances throughout November earned a nomination for the Premier League Player of the Month award, which was by Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, and Frank Lampard's managerial duties saw him nominated for Premier League Manager of the Month, which was instead by Tottenham Hotspur's José Mourinho.
December
Chelsea's first game of the busy December period was at Sevilla in the Champions League group stage. Frank Lampard's Blues ran out 4–0 winners, with Olivier Giroud scoring all four goals for Chelsea, ensuring that the Blues' top spot in their group was secured. On December 5, they welcomed bitter rivals Leeds United to Stamford Bridge, in Chelsea's first home game with 2,000 fans in attendance. Leeds took a shock lead just five minutes through Patrick Bamford, but the Blues managed to equalise with an Olivier Giroud goal and defeated their rivals 3–1 to go top of the Premier League, with Kurt Zouma and Christian Pulisic also adding to the goals. Chelsea played out a 1–1 home draw three days later against Krasnodar, in their final group stage game of the Champions League.
Next, Chelsea travelled to Goodison Park to play Everton on 12 December. The match ended in a 1–0 loss for Chelsea, their first away defeat of the season, putting an end to their 17-game unbeaten run and losing ground in the title race, with Tottenham and Liverpool both ahead of Chelsea, and with a game in hand. Chelsea then followed this up by losing again away to Wolverhampton Wanderers, with a 95th-minute winner from Pedro Neto sealing a 2–1 win for Wolves. Chelsea returned to winning ways in a 3–0 home victory against West Ham United, with a header from Thiago Silva and a brace from Tammy Abraham sealing an emphatic victory.
On 26 December, Chelsea travelled to North London to play out-of-form Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium; Arsenal were in 15th place and were winless in the last seven matches entering this game. The Gunners took a shock 2–0 lead at half-time, courtesy of an Alexandre Lacazette penalty and a Granit Xhaka free kick, before Bukayo Saka added to Arsenal's shock lead in the 56th minute. Tammy Abraham scored a consolation goal in the 85th minute, and Jorginho had a penalty saved in added time by Bernd Leno, to ensure no comeback was to happen for the Blues, in a humiliating 3–1 defeat. Chelsea closed out 2020 with a 1–1 home draw against Aston Villa, with Olivier Giroud and Anwar El Ghazi scoring the only goals of the game.
January
Chelsea's first match of 2021 was at home against Manchester City on 3 January. Chelsea struggled greatly throughout the game and were 3–0 down inside 34 minutes, with the goals coming from İlkay Gündoğan, Phil Foden, and former Chelsea man Kevin De Bruyne. Callum Hudson-Odoi scored a consolation goal in the 92nd minute, as the Blues suffered another embarrassing 3–1 defeat. The next week, Chelsea begun their quest for the FA Cup after coming up short the previous year, starting off their journey with a comfortable 4–0 home victory against League Two side Morecambe in the third round, with Mason Mount, Timo Werner, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and Kai Havertz finding the net for Chelsea.
Chelsea then made a trip to Craven Cottage to take on West London rivals Fulham. The game saw Fulham fullback Antonee Robinson being shown a red card after a dangerous challenge on César Azpilicueta. Mason Mount managed to score the only goal of the match in the 78th minute, as Chelsea earned a hard-fought 1–0 win against their rivals. Chelsea's next match was away at high-flying Leicester City, who at this point were second in the league. Chelsea went on to lose this match 2–0, with first-half goals from Wilfred Ndidi and James Maddison piling more misery on the Blues' bad run of form. Frank Lampard's final game took place on 24 January, as Chelsea defeated Luton Town 3–1 in the FA Cup. However, this wasn't enough to save Lampard's job, as the very next day, Chelsea announced the sacking of Lampard after their poor run of form that included only two wins from their past eight league matches.
The following day, it was announced that former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel would be replacing Lampard as the manager of Chelsea. Tuchel's first match in charge took place two days later, with Chelsea taking on Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge. The match ended in a frustrating 0–0 stalemate, with Chelsea having 79% possession of the ball but were unable to find the net. Tuchel stated after the match that "we will build a team nobody wants to play against". Chelsea's final match of the month was against Burnley at home, which saw Tuchel claim his first win as Chelsea manager, as goals from César Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso sealed a 2–0 victory for the Blues. Alonso's strike against the Clarets earned him a nomination for the Premier League Goal of the Month award, eventually won by Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.
February
Chelsea opened February with three consecutive away victories at Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield United in the league, and Barnsley in the FA Cup. On 15 February, Chelsea welcomed Newcastle United to Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea winning 2–0 to claim their fifth victory in a row in all competitions, as Timo Werner ended his 14-game goal drought in the Premier League, dating back to November.