2005–06 Chelsea F.C. season
# 2005–06 Chelsea F.C. season

The 2005–06 season was Chelsea F.C.'s 92nd competitive season, 14th consecutive season in the Premier League and 100th year as a club. Managed by José Mourinho, Chelsea marked their Centenary season by winning the Premier League title for the second consecutive year after defeating their closest challengers Manchester United 3–0 at Stamford Bridge on 29th April 2006. They also won the Community Shield.

Chelsea continued spending vast sums of money in their third season under the ownership of Roman Abramovich, signing Michael Essien from Lyon and Shaun Wright-Phillips from Manchester City for more than £20 million each.

In the Champions League, Chelsea aimed to improve upon their second straight semi-final placing the previous year, but exited the competition in the first knockout round to FC Barcelona. In the FA Cup, they managed to improve on their third-round exit in the previous season, but fell short in the semi-final, losing 2–1 to Liverpool. After winning the League Cup in the previous season, they failed to defend their title by taking an early third-round exit to Charlton Athletic on penalties.

The season was momentous for Chelsea's record-breaking start to the Premier League season where they won their opening nine games in a row, which is the best start to a Premier League season by any side. The Blues proceeded to claim 20 wins from their first 22 league games, the strongest start recorded to a title defence in the Premier League era. Upon retaining their Champion status, Chelsea equalled the record for most victories within a league season (29), matching their total from the previous year. As of 2020, Chelsea 2005–06 hold joint Premier League records for most wins at home in a season (18) and fewest home defeats in a season (0). They were also the first Premier League team to win against every other opposition team in a season.

## Team kits

Supplier: Umbro / Sponsor: Samsung Mobile

| Home | Home alt. | Away | Away alt. 1 | Third |
| - | - | - | - | - |

The team kit for the season was produced by Umbro and the shirt sponsor was Samsung Mobile, who replaced previous shirt sponsor Emirates Airlines. Chelsea's new home kit was all blue with gold accents. Their new away kit was light blue with black shorts and black accents. Their 3rd kit was similar to their away kit from the 2004–05 season, black with grey shorts and grey accents. The only difference was the addition of the new shirt sponsor and new club crest with modifications.

## Management

| Position | Staff |
| - | - |
| Manager | José Mourinho |
| Assistant manager | Steve Clarke |
| First team coach | Baltemar Brito |
| Fitness coach | Rui Faria |
| Goalkeeping coach | Silvino Louro |
| Opposition scout | André Villas-Boas |

Source:

## First team squad

    Squad at end of season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | GK | CZE | Petr Čech |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Glen Johnson |
| 3 | DF | ESP | Asier del Horno |
| 4 | DF | FRA | Claude Makélélé |
| 5 | MF | GHA | Michael Essien |
| 6 | DF | POR | Ricardo Carvalho |
| 7 | MF | POR | Maniche (on loan from Dynamo Moscow) |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Frank Lampard |
| 9 | FW | ARG | Hernán Crespo |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Joe Cole |
| 11 | MF | IRL | Damien Duff |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Carlton Cole |
| 13 | DF | FRA | William Gallas |
| 14 | MF | CMR | Geremi |
| 15 | FW | CIV | Didier Drogba |
| 16 | MF | NED | Arjen Robben |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | MF | FRA | Lassana Diarra |
| 20 | DF | POR | Paulo Ferreira |
| 22 | FW | ISL | Eiður Guðjohnsen |
| 23 | GK | ITA | Carlo Cudicini |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Shaun Wright-Phillips |
| 26 | DF | ENG | John Terry |
| 29 | DF | GER | Robert Huth |
| 31 | FW | ENG | Scott Sinclair |
| 40 | GK | ENG | Lenny Pidgeley |
| 41 | GK | BEL | Yves Ma-Kalambay |
| 42 | MF | ENG | Anthony Grant |
| 43 | DF | SUI | Jonas Elmer |
| 44 | DF | ENG | Michael Mancienne |
| 45 | MF | POR | Filipe Morais |
| 46 | MF | ENG | Jimmy Smith |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Wayne Bridge (on loan to Fulham) |
| 27 | MF | CZE | Jiří Jarošík (on loan to Birmingham City) |
| 30 | MF | POR | Tiago (to Lyon) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 32 | DF | SCO | Steven Watt (to Swansea City) |
| — | MF | ENG | Joe Keenan (on loan to Willem II) |
| — | MF | RUS | Alexei Smertin (to Dynamo Moscow) |

## Transfers

### In

| No. | Pos | Player | From | Fee | Date |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | DF | Asier del Horno | Athletic Bilbao | £8 million | 21 June 2005 |
| 19 | MF | Lassana Diarra | Le Havre | £1 million | 16 July 2005 |
| 24 | MF | Shaun Wright-Phillips | Manchester City | £21 million | 18 July 2005 |
| 5 | MF | Michael Essien | Lyon | £24.4 million | 19 August 2005 |
| 7 | MF | Maniche | Dynamo Moscow | Loan | 4 January 2006 |

### Out

| No. | Pos | Player | To | Fee | Date |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 24 | FW | Mikael Forssell | Birmingham City | £3 million | 10 June 2005 |
| 19 | MF | Scott Parker | Newcastle United | £6.5 million | 15 June 2005 |
| 9 | FW | Mateja Kežman | Atlético Madrid | £5.3 million | 29 June 2005 |
| 5 | MF | Alexey Smertin | Charlton Athletic | Loan | 15 July 2005 |
| 27 | MF | Jiří Jarošík | Birmingham City | Loan | 22 August 2005 |
| 30 | MF | Tiago | Lyon | £6.8 million | 27 August 2005 |
| 40 | GK | Lenny Pidgeley | Millwall | Loan | 28 November 2005 |
| 5 | MF | Alexey Smertin | Dynamo Moscow | £1 million | 15 March 2006 |

## Competitions

### Premier League

Upon winning the 2005–06 Premier League season, Chelsea clinched their third national league title.

**League table**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Chelsea (C) | 38 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 72 | 22 | +50 | 91 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Manchester United | 38 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 72 | 34 | +38 | 83 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Liverpool | 38 | 25 | 7 | 6 | 57 | 25 | +32 | 82 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Arsenal | 38 | 20 | 7 | 11 | 68 | 31 | +37 | 67 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 53 | 38 | +15 | 65 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |

* ↑ Since Manchester United qualified for the Champions League, their place in the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners passed down to the league and was awarded to Blackburn Rovers as the highest-placed team not already qualified for European competitions.

**Results summary**

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

**Results by round**

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A |
| Result | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | D | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | D | W | W | W | W | L | L |
| Position | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Points | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 31 | 31 | 34 | 37 | 40 | 43 | 46 | 49 | 52 | 55 | 58 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 66 | 66 | 69 | 72 | 75 | 75 | 78 | 79 | 82 | 85 | 88 | 91 | 91 | 91 |

### UEFA Champions League

**Group stage**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Liverpool | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Chelsea | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 11 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Real Betis | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 7 | Transfer to UEFA Cup |
| 4 | Anderlecht | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 3 | |

## Statistics

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | Champions League | Champions League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | CZE | Petr Čech | 41 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Glen Johnson | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ESP | Asier del Horno | 33 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 3+1 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | FRA | Claude Makélélé | 40 | 0 | 29+2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | GHA | Michael Essien | 41 | 2 | 27+4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | POR | Ricardo Carvalho | 35 | 3 | 22+2 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | POR | Maniche | 11 | 0 | 3+5 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Frank Lampard | 49 | 20 | 35 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 4+1 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ARG | Hernán Crespo | 41 | 13 | 20+10 | 10 | 2+3 | 2 | 3+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Joe Cole | 47 | 10 | 26+8 | 7 | 5+1 | 1 | 3+3 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | IRL | Damien Duff | 39 | 3 | 18+10 | 3 | 5+1 | 0 | 3+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Carlton Cole | 13 | 1 | 0+9 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | FRA | William Gallas | 44 | 5 | 33+1 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | CMR | Geremi | 21 | 2 | 8+7 | 2 | 0+2 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | CIV | Didier Drogba | 40 | 14 | 20+9 | 12 | 5+2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | NED | Arjen Robben | 39 | 7 | 21+7 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Wayne Bridge | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | FRA | Lassana Diarra | 7 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | POR | Paulo Ferreira | 31 | 1 | 18+3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | ISL | Eiður Guðjohnsen | 36 | 3 | 16+10 | 2 | 4+2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | GK | ITA | Carlo Cudicini | 12 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Shaun Wright-Phillips | 38 | 0 | 10+17 | 0 | 1+5 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ENG | John Terry | 49 | 7 | 36 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 29 | DF | GER | Robert Huth | 21 | 0 | 7+6 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | ENG | Jimmy Smith | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | GK | ENG | Lenny Pidgeley | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

Statistics:. Squad details and shirt numbers:

### Starting 11

    Considering starts in all competitions.

| No. | Pos | Player | Starts |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | GK | Čech | 42 |
| 13 | RB | Gallas | 44 |
| 6 | CB | Carvalho | 33 |
| 26 | CB | Terry (Captain) | 50 |
| 3 | LB | Del Horno | 32 |
| 4 | DM | Makélélé | 39 |
| 5 | CM | Essien | 36 |
| 8 | CM | Lampard | 48 |
| 10 | RW | J. Cole | 34 |
| 16 | LW | Robben | 31 |
| 15 | CF | Drogba | 29 |

* Čech
* Gallas
* Carvalho
* Terry
* Del Horno
* Essien
* Makélélé
* Lampard
* Robben
* J. Cole
* Drogba

### Summary

| Games played | 54 (38 Premier League) (8 UEFA Champions League) (6 FA Cup) (1 Football League Cup) (1 FA Community Shield) |
| - | - |
| Games won | 37 (29 Premier League) (3 UEFA Champions League) (4 FA Cup) (0 Football League Cup) (1 FA Community Shield) |
| Games drawn | 9 (4 Premier League) (3 UEFA Champions League) (1 FA Cup) (1 Football League Cup) |
| Games lost | 8 (5 Premier League) (2 UEFA Champions League) (1 FA Cup) (0 Football League Cup) |
| Goals scored | 96 (72 Premier League) (9 UEFA Champions League) (12 FA Cup) (1 Football League Cup) (2 FA Community Shield) |
| Goals conceded | 34 (22 Premier League) (4 UEFA Champions League) (6 FA Cup) (1 Football League Cup) (1 FA Community Shield) |
| Goal difference | 62 (+50 Premier League) (+5 UEFA Champions League) (+6 FA Cup) (0 Football League Cup) (+1 FA Community Shield) |
| Clean sheets | 37 (20 Premier League) (5 UEFA Champions League) (1 FA Cup) (0 Football League Cup) (0 FA Community Shield) |
| Most appearances | 50 Frank Lampard & John Terry |
| Top scorer | 20 Frank Lampard |
| Points | Overall: 37/54 (68.52%) |
