Chelsea finished their 2024/25 Premier League campaign on a very positive note.
Enzo Maresca‘s men saw off Nottingham Forest on Sunday, winning 1-0 at the City Ground.
That victory guaranteed Chelsea a place in next season’s Champions League, while it also helped them to finish fourth in the table following Newcastle United’s loss to Everton.
Pat Nevin predicted that Chelsea would finish fourth back in August, whereas many others thought they would come fifth or lower.
Photo by Michael Regan - The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Photo by Michael Regan – The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Roy Keane describes Chelsea’s season as ‘unpredictable’
For another pundit, Manchester United legend Roy Keane, predicting Chelsea’s season was quite difficult.
When asked to describe the Blues’ Premier League campaign with one word, the former midfielder went with “unpredictable”.
It is hard to disagree with Keane. At one stage, Maresca’s side looked like title contenders. Months later, it looked like they would not even finish inside the top six.
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In the end, though, they did and were able to qualify for the Champions League, which was their main goal heading into the season.
Things could get even better on Wednesday as well, with Chelsea having the chance to win the Conference League.
Joe Cole is backing Chelsea to beat Real Betis 2-1 to become the first-ever side to win the Conference League, Champions League and Europa League trophies.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
What Roy Keane said about Chelsea’s title chances earlier in the season
Again, Chelsea were competing with Liverpool at the top of the table for the Premier League title before the start of the new year.
Keane, though, was never convinced and his doubts became valid as the campaign went on.
When Keane discussed Chelsea’s title credentials last November, he said: “Forget about it. They are a dangerous team. They are making progress. They lost to [Manchester] City and Liverpool, drew with United. There’s a bit to go for them.”
While the Blues can be satisfied with their league campaign this season, going forward there will be an expectation for them to seriously challenge for the title after all of the investment that has gone into the squad. Hopefully it is next season, but that may be asking for too much too soon.