Chelsea’s Former Key Attackers Highlight How Much Has Changed in a Year

Football moves quickly, and major stories can fade almost as soon as they break. Looking back at what was happening exactly a year ago offers a useful reminder of how dramatically things can change in just 12 months.

At this time last year, Chelsea were also returning from an international break—only then, they were performing better in the Premier League and generating cautious optimism. Much of the discussion centred on how Enzo Maresca would use the two-week pause to sharpen his team and regain momentum.

Two players who have since departed were central to Chelsea’s hopes at the time. We wrote then that Chelsea “needed a big performance from Nicolas Jackson.” The forward had shown flashes of real promise throughout the season but had gone quiet in key matches against Manchester United and Arsenal. The expectation was that he, alongside Cole Palmer—provided he recovered from a minor injury—would be ready to reignite Chelsea’s attack in the upcoming fixture against Steve Cooper’s side.

There was also confidence in the supporting cast. Pedro Neto was described as “firing on all cylinders,” while Noni Madueke had impressed during England duty. With that level of attacking talent available, the feeling around the club was that scoring three or four goals on the weekend was entirely achievable, and potentially necessary.

A year later, both the squad and the narrative look very different. Chelsea’s reliance on those now-departed attackers highlights how quickly strategies shift and how unpredictable the modern game can be.