What unwanted record will Chelsea equal if they lose to Crystal Palace in the Premier League?

Chelsea have endured a turbulent 18 months since BlueCo, a consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly, too over the club in May 2022. The Blues are already on their third permanent manager in that time, which doesn’t include Frank Lampard’s caretaker spell in charge between the start of April and the end of May. Former Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino was appointed as his replacement but could see his new team equal an unwanted record in Wednesday’s Premier League game at home to Crystal Palace, which they could then break against Luton Town on Saturday.

There are any number of metrics we could use to illustrate just how bad a time Chelsea have been having lately, despite BlueCo spending over $1 billion on new players since acquiring the club.

Chelsea’s second worst Premier League season in 2022-23

The Londoners, who won the Champions League under Thomas Tuchel as recently as May 2021, finished 12th in the Premier League last season after the German was replaced by Graham Potter, who was in turn fired at the start of April having taken charge of only 31 matches. The Blues had only once before finished lower in in the Premier League era, coming 14th in 1993-94, long before they established themselves as one of England’s top teams.

Lampard took over from Potter for the final few weeks of the 2022-23 campaign and could hardly have done any worse, winning one, drawing two and losing eight of his 11 games at the helm. Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t offered a second permanent go at managing the club he played for with such distinction.

Blues continue to struggle under Pochettino

While there have been some encouraging signs under Pochettino, unfortunately for the Argentine, results haven’t significantly improved compared to the whole of last season. Chelsea have lost eight and win only six of their 18 Premier League fixtures this term, which leaves them in 11th place in the standings ahead of Wednesday’s visit of Palace.

Only Fulham have lost more Premier League games in 2023

The 2-1 defeat to Wolves on Christmas Eve was The Blues’ 19th in the Premier League in 2023. Only Fulham in the English top flight and three more teams in Europe’s top five leagues - Spanish side Almería, Werder Bremen in Germany and Italians Empoli - have been turned over more.

As if that weren’t bad enough, were the Stamford Bridge outfit to lose to Crystal Palace, they would equal the club record of 24 defeats in a calendar year, which they previously set in 1978. With one more match to be played before the end of 2023, against Luton at Kenilworth Road, there is even a chance this Chelsea team, $1 billion spent or not, could become the holders of an unwanted record.