Indeed, the Blues were unlucky not to have beaten a lacklustre Liverpool, with Marc Cucurella (tipped to be on his bike this summer) the stand-out performer.
So, Chelsea have three last cracks at salvaging some pride and dignity from a season which is petering out: this weekend’s FA Cup final at Wembley, Tuesday night’s clash with Spurs at the Bridge, and a trip to Sunderland on the last day.
It’s also been a disappointing finale for Chelsea’s women, who threw away a two-goal lead in their own FA Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, gifting Man City the chance to lift both men’s and women’s versions of the trophy.
It all looked so good as captain Erin Cuthbert gave Chelsea the lead on her 300th appearance for the club, in front of a disappointing 7,773 crowd, with Sam Kerr heading a second.
It should really have been 3-0, but an iffy refereeing decision ruled out another Kerr header, before sub Mary Fowler clawed one back, then two Bunny Shaw goals – one in extra time – completed the turnaround.
Blues fans serenaded Shaw with choruses of ‘We’ll see you next year’, after persistent stories (not denied) that she’ll join Chelsea in a month’s time.
Chelsea Women now have nothing left to play for, with their match against Man U at the Bridge on Saturday (overshadowed by the men’s Wembley gig) unlikely to generate much interest.
All 13 of next season’s women’s home league games will be played at Stamford Bridge, but the whispers are that the club will use Wimbledon’s Plough Lane ground for FA Cup clashes, now that Kingsmeadow has been rebranded for youth and development squad use only.
This summer will see major changes to both men’s and women’s squads at Chelsea, with much coming and going. A new full-time manager will be appointed to the men’s team, and Sonia Bompastor will be busy in the transfer market to rebuild the women’s team.