The blues hosted Watford in the final match day of the season with the future of many first team players certain to be away from Stamford Bridge. The blues took the lead early in the match through Kai Harvertz before the game delved into a a stale affair with neither side pushing for another goal.
The second period started with more of the same stale action and with Tuchel giving Rudiger the chance for a final goodbye to the fans, another player whose future also seems away from Stamford Bridge (Ross Barkley) came on in his stead.
As it has often been the case with opponents at the Bridge, Watford were given a lifeline and another player bidding farewell to his team in Dan Gosling pulled Watford level before Barkley came up with the goods late on to put an end to Chelsea’s 2021/2022 season.
Here are 3 lessons learned as Chelsea ends season with mixed feelings;
Home form has to improve
For a team challenging to close the gap on City and Liverpool, Chelsea’s home form this season has been abysmal.
With defeats against Mid table teams like Brentford and against rivals Arsenal, Chelsea struggled to replicate previous season’s imperious home form. All season long, the blues struggled against teams with low blocks and with too many draws at home, Chelsea can be considered lucky to end the season at third place.
Thiago remains committed
A player approaching the end of his career, it turned out to be something of a pleasant surprise to see Thiago was the most active of all players even after a long season where he’s played the highest amount of games since coming to Europe. That also at the advanced age of 38. Thiago kept the same urgency, cajoling, and level of organization as much as when a lot rode on the season.
With many of the first team regulars to depart before the commencement of next season, Thiago’s experience would come in handy to help the new recruits settle in nicely to the demands of the premier league and would remain crucial in the quest of Tuchel’s defensive rebuild.
Kepa no chance
With third place sealed, Tuchel rung the changes and in his words; gave chances to players who had trained well.
Tuchel made 5 changes to the team that started against Leicester city with fringe players like Saül and Kennedy given the chance to start. Last match and little or nothing riding on it, Kepa would have hoped to get the chance to feature for the first time in the league since his appearance against Tottenham hotspur but Tuchel elected to once again trust Mendy in between the sticks. With his future in doubts, Kepa definitely deserved one last appearance but can now only say his goodbye from a distance.
The season ends with mixed feelings amidst the troubles and highs experienced all through the calendar, blues fans and players alike can now breathe a sigh of relief at ending at third place while looking forward to a good summer and hopefully a better 2022/2023 footballing season.
My Player of the year: Thiago Silva
