The 2012–13 season was Chelsea Football Club's 99th competitive season, 24th consecutive season in the top flight of English football, 21st consecutive season in the Premier League, and 107th year in existence as a football club. Chelsea's victory in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history qualified them for the season's UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, although through finishing third in their Champions League group Chelsea competed in the UEFA Europa League for the first time since the 2002–03 season – then known as the UEFA Cup. Season summary On 13 June 2012, Roberto Di Matteo signed a two-year contract, becoming Chelsea's permanent manager, having been appointed as interim manager after the sacking of André Villas-Boas during the 2011–12 season. However, on 21 November 2012, Di Matteo was sacked after a 3–0 loss away to Juventus in the UEFA Champions League, with Rafael Benítez replacing him as interim manager until the end of the season. On 15 May 2013, Chelsea won their first and only silverware of the season, winning the Europa League final against Portuguese side Benfica. They finished the Premier League season in third place.
The season was the first since 2003–04 without Didier Drogba and the first since 2006–07 without Nicolas Anelka, both of whom joined Shanghai Shenhua.
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Overview Month August 3 3 0 0 8 2 6 2.67 0.67 3 9 9 0 1 September 3 2 1 0 3 1 2 1 0.33 2.33 9 7 2 4 October 3 2 0 1 10 6 4 3.33 2 2 9 6 3 3 November 5 0 4 1 3 4 −1 0.6 0.8 0.8 15 4 11 16 December 5 4 0 1 15 5 10 3 1 2.4 15 12 3 3 January 5 2 2 1 10 6 4 2 1.2 1.6 15 8 7 3 February 3 1 0 2 6 6 0 2 2 1 9 3 6 13 March 3 2 0 1 4 2 2 1.33 0.67 2 9 6 3 5 April 4 3 1 0 9 3 6 2.25 0.75 2.5 12 10 2 2 May 4 3 1 0 7 4 3 1.75 1 2.5 12 10 2 1 Total 38 22 9 7 75 39 36 1.97 1.02 1.97 114 75 39 3
June
Excluding players such as Marko Marin, who was signed during the previous season, Chelsea made their first signing of the new campaign on 4 June, signing Belgian international winger Eden Hazard from Lille for an undisclosed fee rumoured to be £32 million."Eden Hazard: Chelsea complete transfer of Lille midfielder". BBC Sport. 4 June 2012. Three days later, the club lost a bid to purchase nearby Battersea Power Station which they considered converting to a stadium and make it their new home ground.
Roberto Di Matteo, who had won the Champions League in the previous season as interim manager, was given a two-year contract as first-team manager on 13 June. On 20 June, Didier Drogba, who scored more than 150 goals for Chelsea in his eight seasons, completed his free transfer to Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua.
July At the Westminster Magistrates' Court, John Terry was found not guilty of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand. The district judge concluded "there being a doubt, the only verdict the court can record is one of not guilty." Chelsea announced a "global energy partnership" with Russian energy firm Gazprom in a three-year deal with a value deemed "commercially confidential", which will help reduce the club's deficits under UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations."Chelsea Signs Three-Year Deal With Russian Energy Company Gazprom". SportsBusiness Daily. 18 July 2012. On 28 July, the club completed the signing of Brazilian midfielder Oscar from Internacional for a reported £25 million fee.
August On 2 August, Kevin De Bruyne was sent on a season-long loan deal to Werder Bremen of the German Bundesliga. Chelsea played their first competitive match of the season in the Community Shield at Villa Park on 12 August, but lost 3–2 to Manchester City and had Branislav Ivanović sent off."Chelsea 2–3 Man City". BBC Sport. 12 August 2012. The club officially announced the signings of Spanish right-back César Azpilicueta from Marseille and forward Victor Moses from Wigan Athletic on 24 August.
Chelsea's Premier League campaign began on 19 August with a 0–2 victory in an away match against Wigan Athletic. Both goals came in the first ten minutes, the first from Branislav Ivanović and then a Frank Lampard penalty after Eden Hazard was fouled."Wigan 0–2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 19 August 2013. The Blues won their second match 4–2 against Reading,"Chelsea 4–2 Reading". BBC Sport. 22 August 2012. and made it three wins out of three with a 2–0 win over Newcastle United."Chelsea 2–0 Newcastle". BBC Sport. 25 August 2012. Chelsea lost 4–1 to Atlético Madrid in the 2012 UEFA Super Cup, for whom Radamel Falcao scored a hat-trick."Chelsea v Atlético Madrid – as it happened". The Guardian. 31 August 2012.
On transfer deadline day, Michael Essien left on a season-long loan deal with Real Madrid, signed by José Mourinho, who had previously signed him for Chelsea. Two more players left Chelsea on season-long loans the same day, as Yossi Benayoun went to West Ham United and Gaël Kakuta joined Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem.
September On 3 September Chelsea sold Portuguese midfielder Raul Meireles to Turkish club Fenerbahçe for £8 million, due to Turkey's transfer window closing later than England's. Ryan Bertrand signed a five-year contract to extend his career at Chelsea until the summer of 2017."Long-term deal for Bertrand" . Chelsea F.C. 5 September 2012. Chelsea's run of three consecutive league wins from the start of the season ended on 15 September as they drew 0–0 away to Queens Park Rangers. Before the game, Anton Ferdinand refused to shake John Terry's and Ashley Cole's hand in the pre-match handshake."QPR 0–0 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 15 September 2012.
Chelsea began their defence of the UEFA Champions League on 19 September, at home to Juventus, and went 2–0 up with Oscar's first goals for the club before Juventus equalised."Chelsea 2–2 Juventus". BBC Sport. 19 September 2012. Brazilian defender David Luiz signed a new five-year contract at the club."". BBC Sport. 22 September 2012. On 22 September, Ashley Cole was the unlikely hero as Chelsea scored a dramatic late winner to defeat Stoke City at home."Chelsea 1–0 Stoke". BBC Sport. 22 September 2012. Chelsea beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 6–0 in the League Cup, with goals coming from Gary Cahill, Juan Mata, Fernando Torres and first goals for Victor Moses, Oriol Romeu and Ryan Bertrand."Chelsea 6–0 Wolves". BBC Sport. 25 September 2012.
Chelsea captain John Terry was banned for four games and fined £220,000 by the FA for racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand."John Terry banned and fined by FA over Anton Ferdinand incident". BBC Sport. 27 September 2012. On 29 September, Chelsea became the first team of the season to defeat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, with a 1–2 victory which put the Blues three points clear at the top after six matches.. BBC Sport. 29 September 2012.
October Chelsea won for the first time in their 2012–13 Champions League campaign by defeating Danish champions Nordsjælland 0–4 away with goals from Ramires, David Luiz and two from playmaker Juan Mata."FC Nordsjaelland 0–4 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 2 October 2012. On 6 October, Fernando Torres, Frank Lampard, Eden Hazard and Branislav Ivanović scored in Chelsea's 4–1 home victory over Norwich City,"Chelsea 4–1 Norwich". BBC Sport. 6 October 2012. before travelling to London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on 20 October for a 2–4 victory, with goals from Gary Cahill, Daniel Sturridge and two from Juan Mata. This was Chelsea's first victory at Tottenham's White Hart Lane since the FA Cup Quarter-Final Replay in 2007."Tottenham 2–4 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 20 October 2012.
On 23 October, Chelsea lost their first Champions League match for the season as they lost 2–1 to Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine."Shakhtar Donetsk 2–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 23 October 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2013. Both Branislav Ivanović and Fernando Torres were sent off in Chelsea's home Premier League match against Manchester United on 28 October, a game which saw Chelsea go 0–2 down and equalise before a controversially late winner from United's Javier Hernández."Chelsea 2–3 Manchester United". BBC Sport. 28 October 2012. Later, Chelsea Lodged an official complaint based on Mikel John Obi claiming the referee Mark Clattenburg had used "inappropriate language.""Mark Clattenburg accused of racial slur during Chelsea v Manchester United". The Guardian. 28 October 2012. Clattenburg was cleared of the accusations on 22 November."Mark Clattenburg cleared by FA as Chelsea's Mikel is charged". BBC Sport. 22 November 2012."Statement on Clattenburg decision". Chelsea F.C. 22 November 2012. On 31 October, Chelsea defeated Manchester United 5–4 in the fourth round of the League Cup, coming from behind three times to force extra time before goals from Daniel Sturridge and Ramires secured the win for the Blues."Chelsea 5–4 Manchester United (aet)". BBC Sport. 31 October 2012.
November
Chelsea playmaker Juan Mata was voted Premier League Player of the Month for October after scoring three goals and contributing three assists."Sir Alex Ferguson & Juan Mata win monthly league awards". BBC Sport. 6 November 2012. On 3 November, Chelsea fell from first place in the Premier League (held since 25 August) after a 1–1 draw at Swansea City's Liberty Stadium."Swansea 1–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 3 November 2012. Chelsea kept up hope of qualifying from their Champions League group by defeating Shakhtar Donetsk 3–2 at home with an injury-time winner from Victor Moses on 7 November. The victory put Chelsea on top of Group E with two games to play."Chelsea 3–2 Shakhtar Donetsk". BBC Sport. 7 November 2012. Chelsea then failed to win for their fourth Premier League match in a row after West Bromwich Albion beat them 2–1 away at The Hawthorns on 17 November. The defeat widened the gap between Chelsea and first-place by four points."West Brom 2–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 17 November 2012.
Roberto Di Matteo was dismissed from his position on 21 November, the morning after a 3–0 away defeat to Juventus, which put Chelsea at risk of being eliminated from the Champions League,"Juventus 3–0 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 20 November 2012. ending a 262-day tenure which saw him win the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League and the 2011–12 FA Cup for Chelsea."Roberto Di Matteo sacked by Chelsea after Juventus defeat". BBC Sport. 21 November 2012."Chelsea sack manager Roberto Di Matteo after poor run of form". Sky Sports. 21 November 2012. On the same day, former Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez was appointed as the club's interim manager until the end of the season."Rafael Benitez replaces Roberto Di Matteo as Chelsea manager". BBC sport. 21 November 2012. His first act of his tenure was to name Dutchman Boudewijn Zenden, a former Chelsea midfielder who had played under him at Liverpool, as his assistant."Rafael Benitez has appointed Boudewijn Zenden as his assistant at Chelsea". Sky Sports. 22 November 2012.
Chelsea midfielder Mikel John Obi was charged with misconduct by the FA after his allegations of racial abuse against referee Mark Clattenburg in the October fixture against Manchester United were found to be baseless. Mikel later received a three-match ban and a £60,000 fine as punishment for his behaviour after the match against Manchester United in October."Mikel suspended" . Chelsea F.C. 6 December 2012."John Mikel Obi banned for Mark Clattenburg threats". BBC Sport. 6 December 2012. Benítez's first game in charge was a goalless draw with 2011–12 Premier League winners Manchester City on 25 November. Despite not scoring, Chelsea kept their first clean sheet since the 1–0 win over Stoke City on 22 September."Chelsea 0–0 Manchester City". BBC Sport. 25 November 2012. The club's next game, a West London Derby against Fulham, again ended 0–0, leaving Chelsea seven points off the top and six off second place."Chelsea 0–0 Fulham". BBC Sport. 28 November 2012.
December