Chelsea 2025-26 summary: Top scorer, best moment, new signings and full verdict on abysmal Blues campaign

Chelsea started the 2025-26 campaign having lifted a European trophy and become world champions in quick succession, the upward trajectory suggesting that BlueCo's well-documented and much-criticised approach was beginning to pay off.

Nine months later, and having had three different head coaches, the West Londoners are without continental football for 2026-27 after producing their second-worst Premier League season in a decade, leaving the latest managerial incumbent - Xabi Alonso - with much to ponder ahead of his arrival at Stamford Bridge.

Here, Sports Mole provides a full summary of Chelsea's 2025-26 campaign.

Chelsea 2025-26 season summary

When Chelsea were lifting the Club World Cup trophy in July, BlueCo would have been anticipating that their often-ridiculed project would continue on an upward trajectory.

Instead, the Blues had have three different head coaches at the helm, have another in waiting, and missed out on Champions League football after a complete capitulation from February onwards.

Eight points from four successive London derbies represented a solid start to the campaign, but defeats to Manchester United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Sunderland before the end of October emphasised that Chelsea remained far from capable of sustaining a Premier League title challenge.

In the Champions League, they lost to Bayern Munich and Atalanta BC, as well as being held by Qarabag FK, to leave them playing catch-up in the race for the top eight, but beating Barcelona by a 3-0 scoreline at Stamford Bridge was one of the Blues' most memorable European performances for a number of years.

Then came trouble. Despite a spirited 1-1 draw with 10 men against Arsenal five days later, it was the start of a run of just one Premier League win in seven games at a time when Maresca was reportedly involved in disputes behind the scenes.

© Iconsport / PA images

On New Year's Day, his departure by mutual consent was confirmed, and Liam Rosenior of fellow BlueCo-owned club Strasbourg was the chosen replacement on a six-year contract. He lasted 107 days.

Rosenior lost just twice - both defeats coming to Arsenal in their EFL Cup semi-final - during his opening 15 matches across all competitions. The former Hull City boss could also count away victories at Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Napoli and a thrilling comeback triumph against West Ham United as justified reasons why everything was heading in the right direction.

However, losing 5-2 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Paris Saint-Germain - conceding three times from the 73rd minute onwards - was the catalyst for Chelsea's remarkable drop-off in form and players, from the outside at least, appearing to down tools.

Chelsea suffered seven defeats in eight games - the one win being over Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-finals - while five successive loses without scoring were posted in the Premier League. The pathetic performance in the 3-0 defeat at Brighton on April 21, with Rosenior taking aim at the players afterwards, cost him his job.

The return of Calum McFarlane as interim head coach steadied the ship to a certain extent. His first win as Chelsea boss was against Leeds United in the FA Cup semi-finals and he also oversaw a 1-1 draw versus Liverpool at Anfield.

Nevertheless, the 3-1 reverse at home to Nottingham Forest on May 4 effectively ended Chelsea's hopes of Champions League football, and hope of silverware was extinguished with a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

A 2-1 London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur kept Chelsea in the hunt for Europa League or Conference League football heading into the final Premier League fixture against Sunderland, but another dismal performance that led to a 2-1 defeat ensured that Chelsea missed out on European qualification for the second time in four seasons.

Chelsea top scorer 2025-26

© Imago / IPA Sport

Despite Chelsea's recent struggles in front of goal, Joao Pedro has still come through with a 20-goal debut campaign.

Fifteen of those have come in the Premier League, despite the fact that the attacker has endured spells of two in 13 and two separate three-match stints without finding the back of the net.

At the same time, contributing 10 goals in 13 top-flight outings between December 20 and March 4 should not be overlooked, nor should a run of eight games where he chipped in with a goal or assist in seven of those matches.

Chelsea player of the season 2025-26

© Imago / Sportimage

When Enzo Fernandez has contributed 15 goals and seven assists across all competitions, he naturally comes into contention for this accolade when there are so few genuine candidates.

Jorrel Hato deserves a special mention for how he adapted to the rigours of English football during the second half of the campaign, but this award can only go to Pedro for the reasons given above.

Nevertheless, a curiosity remains over how Alonso may use the versatile attacker. His 20-goal haul naturally deserves credit, but are his qualities best suited in a creative role rather than as the number nine?

Pedro netted in just two of his eight Champions League appearances and ended 2025-26 by scoring in just two of his final 11 Chelsea outings across all competitions, one of those coming versus Port Vale.

Chelsea's best moment of the 2025-26 season

© Imago / Crystal Pix

Six months to this day, Chelsea delivered their most eye-catching result of the season as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League.

While the eventual La Liga champions squandered an early clear-cut chance and had Ronald Araujo sent off, Chelsea were sensational and should have comfortably doubled the amount of goals that they scored.

A Jules Kounde own goal and second-half efforts from Estevao Willian and Liam Delap made the difference on a night that suggested that Chelsea were going from strength to strength under Maresca. How that changed over the five weeks that followed...

Chelsea's biggest disappointment of the 2025-26 season

© Iconsport / Johnny Fidelin

From Maresca's exit and the capitulation under Rosenior, to an FA Cup final defeat and missing out on European football, this could be an endless list.

However, Chelsea, and Rosenior in particular, will look at being 2-2 with PSG at the Parc des Princes in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with 17 minutes remaining and wonder what might have been.

Had Filip Jorgensen not made THAT mistake, Rosenior could have plausibly kept his players onside in the long term. Even if Chelsea reached full time with a 3-2 deficit, anything was possible in the second leg.

The manner in which PSG ruthlessly exposed Chelsea during the closing quarter in Paris and start of the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge ultimately set the ball rolling for the disappointment that was to come.

Chelsea new signings 2025-26

© Imago / Sebastian Frej

Summer (Ins)

Mike Penders (£17m from Genk)

Estevao Willian (£28.7m, Palmeiras)

Dario Essugo (£18.8m, Sporting Lisbon)

Kendry Paez (£8.4m, Independiente del Valle)

Liam Delap (£30m, Ipswich Town)

Mamadou Sarr (£12m, Strasbourg)

Joao Pedro (£60m, Brighton & Hove Albion)

Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (£48.5m from Borussia Dortmund)

Jorrel Hato (£37m from Ajax)

Alejandro Garnacho (£40m from Manchester United)

Facundo Buonanotte (Loan from Brighton & Hove Albion)

Emanuel Emegha (undisclosed from Strasbourg)*

Winter (Ins)

Yisa Alao (Undisclosed from Sheffield Wednesday)

Mamadou Sarr (Loan return from Strasbourg)

Chelsea 2025-26 season rating

© Imago / PRiME Media Images

When Chelsea have only been denied success or progress in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and Champions League by Manchester City, the Premier League winners and the defending European champions, we cannot be overly harsh with their end-of-season rating.

On the flip side, they played just one Premier League side - Wolverhampton Wanderers - before the semi-finals of both domestic competitions, while they only sealed a top-eight finish in the League Phase of the Champions League on the final matchday.

However, Chelsea ended the season in chaos and with a Premier League return of four points from nine games. Just two more points across that period would have secured a Europa League place.

Therefore, Chelsea get an end-of-season rating of five out of 10, purely down to their runs in the domestic cups that made it a 59-game campaign. Their failures mean that they can expect a less prestigious schedule in 2026-27.