Independent archiveChelsea History

Chelsea men’s first-team season archive

2009–10

Chelsea finished 1st in the Premier League, taking 86 points from 38 matches under the points system used at the time.

CompetitionPremier League
League finish1st
ManagerCarlo Ancelotti
Leading scorerDidier Drogba (37)

League record

38Played
27Won
5Drawn
6Lost
103Goals for
32Goals against
86Points
1stPosition

What the numbers show

Chelsea won 71.1% of league matches and avoided defeat in 32 of 38. The side averaged 2.71 goals scored and 0.84 conceded per match, producing a +71 goal difference.

Against the preceding comparable campaign, league position improved by 2 and goal difference moved from +44 to +71.

The campaign

The 2009–10 league record placed Chelsea 1st in the Premier League. A +71 goal difference and 32 unbeaten league matches show the balance behind that finish; the position was 2 places higher than 2008–09.

Beyond the league, the recorded competition outcomes were FA Cup: winners; League Cup: fifth round; Charity/Community Shield: winners; European Cup/Champions League: R16. The FA Cup and Charity/Community Shield successes links this campaign directly to the honours archive.

The managerial record links the campaign to Carlo Ancelotti. Didier Drogba led the recorded scoring list with 37 goals.

Place in Chelsea history

Carlo Ancelotti’s side completed Chelsea’s first league-and-FA-Cup Double while setting a new attacking standard.

Related Chelsea history

The season in detail

Carlo Ancelotti's first season ended with Chelsea's first league-and-FA-Cup Double. The side scored 103 league goals, giving this championship a different statistical character from the defensive benchmark of 2004-05.

Didier Drogba led the campaign scoring record and won the Premier League Golden Boot. Frank Lampard also contributed heavily from midfield, illustrating why the attacking total cannot be explained through a single source of goals.

Chelsea secured the league with an 8-0 final-day win over Wigan Athletic and then beat Portsmouth at Wembley in the FA Cup final. The sequence joined sustained league production to a separate knockout achievement.

The Champions League ended in the round of sixteen, an important limit in a season otherwise dominated by domestic success. Including that result avoids turning the Double into a claim that Chelsea controlled every competition entered.

Across 38 league matches Chelsea won 27, drew 5 and lost 6, finishing with a +71 goal difference. FA Cup: W; League Cup: R5; Charity/Community Shield: W; European Cup/Champions League: R16.