With Roman Abramovich, Chelsea finished outside the top 4 in only three of 18 seasons and won 17 titles. Thanks to the 2012 Champions League, they missed that competition only twice. In the three seasons under BlueCo, the club finished 12th, 6th, and 4th, with the Conference League and the Club World Cup as their only titles.

Even so, they could close out 2025-26 with a title and a Champions League berth: they are in the FA Cup semifinals against Leeds United and sixth in the Premier League, one point behind Liverpool, who hold fifth place, which grants access to the continental tournament via UEFA coefficients.

Before, Chelsea trusted their superstars to overcome any rough patch, no matter the coach. Now it is not so simple, because the new ownership is betting on a project based on the youth academy. Cole Palmer is the talisman who already showed his worth at the highest level, although this season he has also been subdued.

Palmer’s performance with the club and the national team is concerning. In the March international matches, he failed to convince Thomas Tuchel to select him for the World Cup, following disappointing performances against Uruguay and Japan. Those performances were a continuation of his recent matches with Chelsea.

Since his hat trick at Wolverhampton on Feb. 7, he has scored only two goals and provided one assist in 11 matches; his last goal — the third in the 4-1 win over Aston Villa — came eight matches ago. Additionally, he has barely been close to breaking that drought.

On Saturday, Chelsea thrashed Port Vale of League One 7-0 in the FA Cup quarterfinals, but Palmer did not score or assist. He participated in the third goal, but only pushed the ball toward an empty net after a save by goalkeeper Joe Gauci; his shot would have gone wide if not for Port Vale defender Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel, who turned it into his own net.

In the Premier League, his drop-off is even more evident: after reaching 14 goals on Jan. 14, he has added only 10 more, six of them from penalties.

This season was always going to be a trial by fire for Chelsea. The physical wear and tear accumulated since last summer’s Club World Cup, plus the prospect of the international edition scheduled for the end of the 2025/26 season, made the exhaustion of key players predictable. The calendar was already overloaded before FIFA added this new tournament.

Palmer played 52 matches and logged 4,247 minutes in the demanding 2024/25 season. Before this season, he had missed only four matches due to injury with Chelsea, so it is no surprise that his body has said enough: he has already missed 25 matches with club and country this season.

He was never a player of great speed, but now, somewhat slower and more hesitant, he loses impact in transition against defenses that are already set.

After the win over Port Vale, he acknowledged to the club’s media how limiting his lower-body injuries have been: “I feel good, I have turned a corner, I can finally shoot and do everything, so I just have to keep going and perform.” It is ridiculous that he has had to endure so much pain, but if he is telling the truth, better performances should come now.

For the first time in his career, Palmer was named captain in the win over Port Vale. “Great, it took a while, but finally!” he said with a laugh. “It was a proud moment to be captain, and I enjoyed it.”

Coach Liam Rosenior explained the decision to give Palmer the armband: “It is a natural step in his career. Cole shows leadership. Some talk and organize. What Cole does is be brave; he takes the ball, and if he makes a mistake, he does it again. That reflects what I want on this team. Today he led magnificently.”

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