Chelsea's numbers last season
Chelsea finished a disappointing 10th last season but the fact that they had the fourth-best expected goal difference shows that things maybe weren't quite as bleak as the table suggests. While five teams had more shots than the Blues, only Brentford and Crystal Palace created better chances (even if you exclude penalties), meaning only Manchester City had a higher expected goals figure. The…
Chelsea concluded the previous season in a disappointing 10th position. However, the team's fourth-best expected goal difference suggests that their season wasn't as dismal as their table ranking might indicate. Five other teams had more shots than Chelsea, but only Brentford and Crystal Palace created better chances, indicating only Manchester City had a higher expected goals figure.
The main issue lay in converting those chances into goals. Despite only five teams having a superior shot-conversion rate, Chelsea scored eight fewer goals than they statistically should have, given the opportunities they had. Only Crystal Palace and Wolves performed worse in front of goal. On the defensive end, only the top two teams faced fewer shots than Chelsea, but they conceded the highest proportion of their opponents' shots, leading to their relegation.
Notably, only two teams underperformed their expected goals numbers by more than Chelsea last season, suggesting both challenges and opportunities for new manager Xabi Alonso.
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