Chelsea 2025 in review: Surreal Donald Trump moment, Estevao era and ill-discipline
Chelsea won the Club World Cup and the Conference League in 2025 but that was not the whole story of the year
When you have the privilege of reporting on Chelsea, you know that every year will be full of drama — and 2025 can certainly be added to the list.
The popularity of head coach Enzo Maresca among the club’s supporters has been like the English weather, swinging one way and another.
There were two trophies and the return of Champions League football to celebrate. There were also some humbling defeats, including when Maresca made the faux pas of saying going out of the FA Cup to Brighton could turn out to be a positive.
Here is my rundown of the highlights and lowlights of the year, with a nod to what to look forward to in 2026.
Best moment
Maresca’s dash down the touchline after Estevao’s late winner at home to Liverpool in October.
The two trophies secured in 2025, plus Champions League qualification, were all achieved away from home. Despite those successes, the Italian has continued to divide opinion among the fanbase.
This was a big moment for the coach with the fans at Stamford Bridge, even though he got shown a second yellow card for it. The goal also truly kick-started the Estevao era.
Worst moment
When the news emerged that Levi Colwill was going to miss most of the 2025-26 campaign due to suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury on the first day of pre-season training in August.
It was a major setback for the club, the team, but my thoughts were instantly with the individual. I had interviewed Colwill just nine days earlier. He was full of excitement at the thought of playing in the Champions League for the first time and at Chelsea’s chances of competing for the Premier League.
The long lay-off also ended his dreams of playing for England at the World Cup. It just highlighted how football can be such a cruel game.
Levi Colwill suffered an injury right before the season began (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Best game
It has to be the 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final.
Few gave Chelsea a chance against the Champions League holders, and the pre-match build-up betrayed that. Instead of getting despondent about it, it was used as a motivation. Maresca got his tactics spot on as Chelsea took control of the game from the kick-off.
The match was effectively over before the interval as Chelsea scored three times through two sublime finishes from Cole Palmer and one from Joao Pedro. A sign of just how rattled their opponents were came when head coach Luis Enrique slapped Joao Pedro after the final whistle.
