2025/26 has not been the season that Chelsea fans would have wanted or even anticipated. Last term, it looked like there were some signs of moving in the right direction. The Blues finished fourth, just two points behind Manchester City and only five shy of Arsenal in second. They also won the Conference League with virtually their second team.
Hopes were high that this time around, they could consolidate that position. Most fans accepted that it might be a season too soon for a really serious tilt at the title, but progress, or even consolidation, was a fair goal.
Instead, Chelsea have taken a step backwards. If they don’t arrest their dreadful league form, they could yet finish in the bottom half. Right now, they are eighth, but they are only a point ahead of Everton, down in 11th. Being more positive, they are only two points behind sixth-placed Brighton. But even if they pinched sixth, it would be a step backwards and the Champions League is now almost certainly out of reach.
But Still a Chance of Silverware
Chelsea are not one of those clubs like Spurs or even Arsenal(!) for which winning a trophy is a really big deal. The last 10 years or so have been far from perfect, but even so, the Blues won the Conference League last year and the Club World Cup in 2025 and 2021. They also won the Champions League in 2021, the Europa League in 2019 and the FA Cup in 2018. Before that, they won the Premier League in 2017, which would make for an amazing decade at most football clubs.
Chelsea have different standards, though. Seapite this, winning the FA Cup this term would, in modern parlance, not be nothing. Even for serial winners like the Blues, winning a trophy puts a slightly different spin on a season. It wouldn’t rescue 2025/26, especially if they finish outside the top six or seven, but it would certainly make the poor league campaign easier to bear. Especially if West Ham or Spurs go down and Arsenal win nothing!
Chelsea still have much to do, with a clash against Man City in the final up ahead. That game will take place at Wembley on the 16th of May. But if they can somehow find a way past a rampant-looking City, it would at the very least give them a spot in the Europa League (if they don’t make the top six). It would also give them something to build on going into 2026/27.
Nervy Second Half But Deserved Win
INTO THE FA CUP FINAL! 💙#CFC | #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/HCcn8fG4Nr
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 26, 2026
After seven defeats in eight games, the only positive result coming against a side set to be relegated to the fourth tier, Chelsea went into the semi-final clash with Leeds with morale at rock bottom. Five straight league defeats without scoring had cost Liam Rosenior his job. Fans may have hoped for a new-manager bounce, but the last time Calum McFarlane stepped in, he oversaw a defeat and a draw.
In short, though the bookies made the Blues favourites, few would not have been at all surprised if Leeds had knocked out the eight-time FA Cup champions. Daniel Farke’s men had all but secured Premier League survival and could put their all into the clash. Their form had been very strong coming into the Wembley showdown, with recent back-to-back wins against Man United and Wolves, followed up by a good draw at Bournemouth.
Leeds started brightly, and after 15 minutes, a neat pass from Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Brenden Aaronson through on goal. Robert Sanchez made a good save, but the attacker should have done better. After that, the Blues assumed control of the match and dominated possession. They didn’t create all that much, but looked dangerous and the goal, when it came, was deserved.
As the Leeds defence hesitated, Joao Pedro was able to nip in, he fed Pedro Neto and his excellent cross was neatly headed into the corner by Enzo Fernandez. The Argentine celebrated like a man who felt he had a point to prove, having recently been dropped by his former manager.
Leeds Better After Break
Farke is a tactically astute manager who Jurgen Klopp put alongside Pep Guardiola when asked who he would want to talk football with. He made a good change at the break, switching from a back three to four at the back and having an extra player in midfield, paradoxical as that may sound. It worked, and Leeds were much better in the second half.
Their possession jumped from 35% in the first period to 57% in the second, and they restricted the Blues to just two shots, none of which tested the keeper. Leeds themselves, though, didn’t create much either and rather huffed and puffed without having the class needed as they moved closer to goal.
Calvert-Lewin had the best chance but his header lacked placement and was easily saved. In the end, Chelsea held on and overall this was a clear improvement in terms of the performance level. Would sixth and the FA Cup represent a good season? Probably not. But the fans would take it right now without a shadow of a doubt. The question is: can these players deliver?