If Chelsea are to become a serious contender in the Premier League again, their record against their ‘Big Six’ rivals has to improve dramatically.
When Chelsea won five Premier League titles (2005, 2006, 2010, 2015, 2017), their results against Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham played a major part in their success. In the 50 league matches against these five, Chelsea won 30 of them and lost just 10.
This air of dominance has become a distant memory, although their record against Tottenham — they have won the last five league games — remains strong. But that is hardly an accolade, given Chelsea have been consistently getting the better of them for well over 30 years. Besides, there is a strong argument over whether Tottenham should be considered one of the ‘Big Six’ given their position in the table.
But against the other four, Chelsea have fallen victim to an inferiority complex. Head coach Liam Rosenior has plenty on his to-do list already, but reversing this downturn should be considered a priority.
Just looking at the potential ramifications for the remainder of this season, their form against these sides will have a major say in whether Chelsea qualify for the 2026-27 Champions League via a top-five finish. (England has a big lead in UEFA’s coefficient table and is already expected to get an extra place for Champions League qualification to go along with the top four who qualify automatically.)
Take Arsenal, who they face on Sunday at Emirates Stadium. Chelsea have not beaten them in their last 10 meetings in all competitions, and last tasted a league victory away from home five years ago.
On April 11 — barring the fixture being moved for TV purposes — Manchester City come to Stamford Bridge. Chelsea’s run against Pep Guardiola’s side is even worse at 12 winless games. You have to go back to the 2021 Champions League final for Chelsea’s last triumph against them. Three weeks before that great night in Porto was the last occasion they came out on top in a league game.
Just to hammer home the dire nature of Chelsea being second best against these two clubs in particular, that is a combined 22 matches (17 in the Premier League) without a victory. Chelsea have also failed to keep a clean sheet in all of those fixtures.
Manchester United are up next at home the following weekend. Now Chelsea have claimed all three points against them in the corresponding fixture in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns. But they are Chelsea’s only two victories in the previous 16 league meetings.
The drought at Old Trafford stretches back to May 5, 2013, when Juan Mata scored the only goal. That is 13 league matches without a win there. This has come during a period where Manchester United have been a lot weaker than the side which won 13 titles between 1993 and 2013.
Juan Mata’s strike in May 2013 secured Chelsea’s last victory at Old Trafford (Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Chelsea have also beaten Liverpool at Stamford Bridge twice in succession. Unfortunately for Rosenior, Chelsea will be playing them at Anfield on May 9 as things stand. Like Arsenal and Manchester City, 2021 was the year they last won there. And before the couple of wins in 2025 (May and October) under predecessor Enzo Maresca, Chelsea went 10 games in all competitions without a win. That included three defeats in domestic cup finals: the 2022 Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals on penalties, and the 1-0 loss in the 2024 Carabao Cup final.
There will be a lot of expectation on Chelsea to keep their remarkable streak over Tottenham — 23 league wins and one home defeat since 1990 — going when the teams meet at Stamford Bridge on May 17. But that is the penultimate league fixture of the season and could come too late if they have suffered damage from the other four clubs.
Arsenal and Manchester City are battling it out for the Premier League trophy, and barring a ridiculous collapse, are assured of their Champions League spots already. Chelsea’s games against Manchester United (fourth), who are three points ahead of them, and Liverpool (sixth), who are behind only on goal difference, are vital.
The current generation has begun to develop a bit of a reputation for performing against the best sides. Wins last year against Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup, Barcelona in the Champions League, and the ones versus Liverpool helped build this feeling. An impressive 3-2 victory at Serie A champions Napoli last month is Rosenior’s most impressive since taking over in early January.
But the numbers demonstrate Chelsea are still a long way short of the standards they used to set in their pomp. The longer they struggle to overcome this psychological barrier, the wait for another league title will surely continue.