Chelsea

Will Faulks
Fan writer

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Season rating: 6/10. The destination was good but the journey was pretty painful at times.

Happy with your manager? Enzo Maresca insists he does not want to be judged on results, which is curious as that is the main thing he has got going for him. The football has been poor, there was little growth in the team from August to May, and he has made no effort to win over sceptical fans, preferring instead to patronise and disparage them. If we kick on next season, that will all be forgotten - but he certainly has not built up any excess goodwill to use if we start slowly. The players really seem to enjoy working with him, which is important and a promising sign for him long term.

Unsung hero: It was fitting that Levi Colwill got the winning goal on the final day. He got better and better as the season went on without ever being given too much individual praise. He has always had talent. Now he is getting games he is improving rapidly and should be a fixture in the team for years to come - perhaps with a new partner at the back next season.

Player you would most like to sign: A top striker would make all the difference. Premium price options look to be off the table given Chelsea's wage structure, but rolling the dice on Benjamin Sesko seems plausible and potentially game-changing if he is as good as some people think.

Right now, my overriding emotion from the season is: Relief. It was not pretty, but the players showed heart at the end to set themselves up for next season, when we hope to see the club competing for major trophies again. The tough moments they went through will play a part in developing this exceptionally young group, and a few key additions will hopefully mean a marked improvement over the summer.

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Find more from Will Faulks at Chelsea News, external

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Here's my quick assessment of Chelsea's Premier League season - and a return to my August predictions.

Pre-season prediction: 7th

Ended the season: 4th

Enzo Maresca was keen to turn on his and Chelsea's critics, and he deserves credit for taking them back into the Champions League on the final day of the season while looking forward to a Conference League final against Real Betis.

It was still a strange season, however, and many fans remain to be convinced by Maresca's studied passing style, even if the owners are.

Chelsea looked title outsiders around October, but a dip in form - especially for the brilliant Cole Palmer - ended that talk. It was a decent return for this season, though, with the possibility of a trophy.

Summer priorities? A better goalkeeper than Robert Sanchez and a reliable goalscorer.

What I said in August: "Impossible to predict what will happen in the next 20 minutes at Chelsea, let alone what might have happened by the time May rolls around."

Read my assessments of the other 19 teams here

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Chelsea defender Josh Acheampong has admitted his "shock" that manager Enzo Maresca knew him during pre-season.

The Italian prepared a dossier when interviewing for the Chelsea job last summer which included an evaluation of every player in the first team and academy sides.

After his appointment, Maresca called up academy players Acheampong and Tyrique George for a pre-season tour in the United States, and the pair were promoted to senior squad roles on a permanent basis in December.

Asked whether he was surprised Maresca knew him, Acheampong said: "Yes. I remember the first day. I was like, 'Hi, I'm Josh', and he was like, 'I know who you are'.

"So it was a bit of a shock, but it was good. He's really positive. He gives me a lot of encouragement."

"When I first joined up with the team, he told me what he wants from me, what I can improve on, what I do well.

"It was a good experience, being in the States, playing in big stadiums. It was kind of like the start of the journey."

Maresca has repeatedly said he "loves" Acheampong, first when the club exiled the defender from the first team during contract negotiations, until he signed a new five-year deal in December.

Acheampong admits he got a "bit of stick" over it, but added: "It was really good to hear, to be fair. It gave me a lot of confidence."

The 19-year-old has featured in seven of Chelsea's 12 games in the Conference League this season and hopes to play a part in Wednesday's final against Real Betis in Wroclaw.

He said the tournament has served as a "stepping stone into men's football", adding: "Hopefully we can go all the way."

Chelsea have discussed a move for Eintracht Frankfurt's 22-year-old French forward Hugo Ekitike. They also have significant interest in Sporting's Sweden forward Viktor Gyokeres, 26, and Ipswich's Liam Delap, 22. (Independent, external)

Eintracht Frankfurt value Ekitike at £84m, albeit with a negotiable payment structure. (Athletic - subscription required, external)

Meanwhile, the Blues, Bayern Munich and Manchester United have all shown concrete interest in 25-year-old AC Milan and Portugal forward Rafael Leao. (Teamtalk, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Moises Caicedo has become the first central midfielder to start every game for Chelsea in a Premier League season since Frank Lampard in 2004-05.

The Ecuador international scored his only goal of the campaign against Manchester United in November and has made four more one goal, against Liverpool twice, Tottenham and West Ham.

His versatility has also been an asset, putting in a few shifts at right-back when Enzo Maresca needed him to be flexible.

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After securing Champions League football on the final day of the Premier League season, we asked for your views on Chelsea's campaign.

Here are some of your comments:

Keith: Learning how to win ugly is essential to becoming a successful club. Our young players are learning how to do that. I hope they will become experts.

Dauda: This game was just like a cup final for Chelsea because being in top four is justification of where they belong as an elite club in Europe. They need to go for a world-class striker to give Nicolas Jackson the confidence a striker should have. I congratulate them. Up the Blues.

Andrew: Well deserved. We played good enough football all season. If only we had a striker - any striker - we could compete, but Pedro Neto just doesn't cut it.

Daniel: Job done - which is a huge praise for this young Chelsea team. They are maturing.

Andy: Champions League qualification was probably the first objective for the season. Next is a great chance to win a European trophy and increasing team confidence. Making use of an early transfer window should help Chelsea win the Club World Cup too!

Jason: Good to finish fourth, but we dropped too many points after Christmas. How did we lose and draw to end up dropping five points against Ipswich? That was disappointing.

JJ: Our best performance of the season and, most importantly, we're going into the Champions League next campaign after a couple of years out of it.

Highlights and analysis from Sunday's 10 final day Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Nottingham Forest 0-1 Chelsea

• Liverpool 1-1 Crystal Palace

• Wolves 1-1 Brentford

Sweden forward Viktor Gyokeres will leave Sporting this summer. The 26-year-old is linked with Chelsea and Arsenal and has an agreement with the Portuguese club to allow him to leave for less than his £84m release clause. (Sky Sports, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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After Chelsea's 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest saw them end their Premier League season in fourth place and secure a place in the Champions League next term, we asked for your reflections on the result and the campaign.

Here are some of your comments:

Andy: A fantastic final day. Finishing fourth and qualifying for Champions League the traditional way as well. Much improved on last season and Conference League final to look forward to. Satisfied.

Chris: I said we would come eighth, so I'm delighted to be wrong. However, we are still nowhere near being able to compete with the best. We still need a dominant leader in the centre of defence, two top strikers and a second Petr Cech to be able to win the major trophies. Today's efforts were good but Forest were very timid for a side that needed the win.

Liam: Making the Champions League spots with a win builds confidence. It's fantastic that the young team met their target for the season. Now let's get that trophy on Wednesday, and continue to foster a winning mentality.

KT: Absolute skin of our teeth here, I don't want headlines to be used to cover up what was not a particularly good season. However, I think this is a 'trust-the-process' situation. We've seen glimmers of hope. Let's stick with what we've got at the moment, try and add to it over the summer and make this a team of clinical winners!

Jason: Very pleased. Manager has done a good job. Two places higher than last year shows clear progress. A European final to look towards as well.

Cuthbert: Quite pleasing to see Chelsea deservedly playing Champions League next season having been on the ascendancy and being second behind Liverpool by Christmas. These young lads can prove competitive for the title if they can get a 20+ plus goals a season striker to aid their efforts. My plea as a Chelsea fan is to convert Nicolas Jackson to a winger as his goal contributions and movement do not need to be wasted on the bench. Trophies are on the horizon at the Bridge. Thank you team - the blood always runs dark blue!

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Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, speaking after win over Nottingham Forest: "Very happy. I'm very happy for many reasons. First of all, because I think the players deserve it.

"Since day one they have been working very, very hard. With the club, with the owners, with the sporting directors, the players, we all go in the same direction. And I said many times during the season that the noise was more from outside than from inside.

"City lost here, Arsenal drew here, Liverpool drew here and Chelsea won. So it's not easy. It's not easy. The players, they show how good they are, the effort they have been.

"12th two years ago, sixth last year and fourth this season. With probably the youngest squad in the history of the Premier League. So, very happy."

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Chelsea captain Reece James, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live: "It is an amazing feeling.

"We knew coming here on the final day would be tough. They have had an amazing season - they have so much threat going forward.

"We had to dig in. We both needed to win, but I am so happy that the team got the job done today.

"We talk about being the best team-mate and everybody showed that today.

"So many people before the season, during the season had disbelief - they told us 'we were you young, inexperienced and were not going to make it'.

"But we are here.

"The season has been long and tough. We started off so well, but then we had a dip.

"Going into another final and we have our eyes on the prize."

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Chelsea's 1-0 victory - which confirmed their qualification for the Champions League - was the first time they have won and kept a clean sheet in a Premier League away game since September (3-0 v West Ham).

In fact, it was just their second win in their past 11 league games on the road (D3 L6).

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Chelsea defender Levi Colwill, speaking to Sky Sports: "When I scored, I stayed calm because we still had more minutes to play but I stayed calm and helped the boys.

"What I got taught in the academy is you have to fight. We try to get these clean sheets to win and that's what we did today.

"We had to win. We knew we had to win and that it wasn't going to be a hard atmosphere but we did it.

"This club deserves to be in the Champions League."

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Chelsea celebrated at the City Ground, the substitutes' bench bursting on to the pitch at the final whistle.

Levi Colwill's tap-in settled a game that failed to live up to its pre-match billing as the two teams slugged it out for the ultimate prize of a Champions League spot.

Chelsea feel they belong there, and Enzo Maresca got them over the line in what could be a triumphant few days before Wednesday's Conference League final.

The average age of Chelsea's starting line-up in the Premier League this season is 24 years and 36 days - the youngest ever.

After several false dawns, given this qualification for the Champions League and a potential European trophy, the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge can start to rightly claim their project is finally coming to life.

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It went right down to the final day but the European places for next season are now finally confirmed.

Manchester City and Chelsea's wins saw them secure third and fourth respectively, while Newcastle took the fifth and final Champions League spot despite a final day loss to Everton.

Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest's defeats mean they miss out on the top five but will be heading on European adventures in the Europa and Conference Leagues respectively.

Chelsea's win means there will not be an additional spot for eighth place so Brighton's victory at Tottenham does not creep them into Europe.

The curtain has come down on Chelsea's Premier League season with a win against Nottingham Forest that sees them finish fourth and secure a Champions League spot.

In a rollercoaster league campaign that saw them the closest challengers to Liverpool at one point before a slump in form left them fighting for a top five place, it finishes on high for Enzo Maresca's side.

So how are you feeling after the game and at the end of a long campaign?

Have your say on Chelsea's performance and season - and send us your photos of the celebrations!

Come back to this page later to find a selection of your replies

(We can't publish any pics from inside the stadium)

Nottingham Forest are unchanged following their win at West Ham as they chase a Champions League spot on the final day.

Callum Hudson-Odoi must be content with a place on the bench against his former club while Willy Boly returns among the substitutes.

Nottingham Forest XI: Sels, Aina, Murillo, Milenkovic, Williams, Sangare, Anderson, Dominguez, Gibbs-White, Elanga, Wood

Subs: Morato, Toffolo, Boly, Hudson-Odoi, Yates, Danilo, Jota Silva, Sosa, Miguel

Jadon Sancho returns in Chelsea's only change at the City Ground from their win over Manchester United.

He replaces Tyrique George while there is no Christopher Nkunku in the squad despite being named as available by boss Enzo Maresca.

Chelsea XI: Sanchez, James, Colwill, Adarabioyo, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Palmer, Madueke, Sancho, Neto

Subs: Badiashile, Chalobah, Gusto, Guiu, Acheampong, Dewsbury-Hall, Lavia, George, Jorgensen

All 20 teams are in action on the final day of the 2024-25 Premier League campaign, and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Bournemouth v Leicester City

• Fulham v Man City

• Ipswich v West Ham

• Liverpool v Crystal Palace - Listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Man Utd v Aston Villa

• Newcastle v Everton

• Nottingham Forest v Chelsea - Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Southampton v Arsenal

• Tottenham v Brighton

• Wolves v Brentford - Listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

All kick-off times 16:00 BST

Follow all of the action and reaction here