It has been a fantastic 12 months in south-west London. Chelsea Women won a fifth consecutive WSL title in May and after an emotional farewell to Emma Hayes, Sonia Bompastor has enjoyed a near-perfect start to life in charge.

The men’s team, meanwhile, go into the new year in fourth position after a year of significant collective development, with Cole Palmer the source of many individual highlights having emerged as one of the best players in world football.

It is no surprise the England star features prominently in our recap of 2024’s best moments at Chelsea, which we have listed in chronological order!

Lauren James hat-trick goal vs Manchester United, 21 January

Lauren James made it back-to-back WSL Stamford Bridge hat-tricks late on in a hard-fought win against Manchester United. The attacker latched on to a through ball and converted in typically clinical fashion to seal another memorable home win for the Blues.

Enzo Fernandez free-kick vs Aston Villa, 7 February

Enzo Fernandez produced a free-kick of the highest quality to put the seal on an impressive FA Cup win away to Aston Villa, enjoying their best campaign in decades. With the Blues 2-0 up early in the second half, Enzo curled a picture-perfect free-kick into the top corner, past the despairing dive of his compatriot Emiliano Martinez. Pandemonium!

Cole Palmer 101st-minute winner vs Manchester United, 4 April

With 99 minutes on the clock, Chelsea trailed 3-2. Step forward Cole Palmer. He scored his second penalty of the game in the tenth minute of stoppage time to draw us level, before firing in a deflected strike less than 60 seconds later, sparking wild scenes at Stamford Bridge. Palmer’s hat-trick goal secured the latest victory in Premier League history.

Cole Palmer hat-trick goal vs Everton, 15 April

Palmer completed his second consecutive Stamford Bridge hat-trick with an immaculate lob after intercepting a Jordan Pickford pass. After a stunning left-footed opener and then a header, this balanced effort on his right also made it a perfect hat-trick, all inside the opening half-hour of an emphatic 6-0 win.

Alfie Gilchrist goal vs Everton, 15 April

Later in the same game, after Nicholas Jackson and another Palmer penalty had extended our lead, Academy graduate Alfie Gilchrist scored his first Chelsea goal with a controlled strike. You could see just how much it meant to the homegrown defender as he celebrated in front of the Shed!

Erin Cuthbert goal vs Barcelona, 20 April

Chelsea produced a stunning performance to inflict a maiden competitive home defeat on Barcelona since 2019 in the first leg of our Women’s Champions League semi-final. Erin Cuthbert grabbed the only goal in the first half and a resolute defensive performance earned Emma Hayes one of the best victories of her long tenure as head coach.

Nicolas Jackson winner vs Nottingham Forest, 11 May

The Blues completed a dramatic turnaround at the City Ground courtesy of Jackson’s powerful header from Reece James’s typically pinpoint cross with eight minutes left. It was the skipper’s first game back after injury and the result took the Blues a big step closer to European football the following campaign.

Cole Palmer named Premier League Young Player of the Season, 17 May

Palmer’s amazing contributions in his first campaign as a Chelsea player earned him several individual awards this year, including the Premier League Young Player of the Season prize. He finished as the league’s second top scorer, with 22 goals, and also ranked second for assists, with 11. He was certainly a very deserving first Chelsea player to win the award!

Lifting the WSL title in Emma Hayes’ final game, 18 May

A tense title race went to the wire, but Chelsea made light work of what looked a tricky assignment away to Manchester United on the final day to emerge triumphant. An early Mayra Ramirez goal set the tone as the Blues eventually ran out commanding 6-0 winners to stay ahead of Manchester City on goal difference. Getting her hands on the WSL trophy one more time was the most fitting farewell for Hayes, who left the club after 12 years of incredible service.

Moises Caicedo halfway line goal vs Bournemouth, 19 May

Moises Caicedo chose the most spectacular way possible to open his Chelsea account on the final day of 2023/24. The midfielder intercepted a loose pass from Bournemouth keeper Neto and, from just inside the opposition half, lofted the ball over the retreating Cherries and into the unguarded net. No wonder it won the Chelsea Goal of the Season prize!

Thiago Silva’s farewell, 19 May

At the end of the Bournemouth game, Stamford Bridge bid an emotional farewell to Thiago Silva, who left Chelsea after four years of fantastic service. The Brazilian was in tears as he addressed supporters on the pitch, and the feeling was most certainly mutual. This was not one of the 'best' moments of the year, but undoubtedly one of the most emotional.

Cole Palmer goal in Euro 2024 final, 11 July

Not strictly speaking a Chelsea moment but we couldn’t ignore this major piece of club history. With a typically sweet strike from range against Spain, Palmer became the first current Blues men’s player to score in a major final for England. And whilst it wasn't the result Three Lions fans had been hoping for, it was a special night for another of our own, Marc Cucurella, as the defender lifted his first senior trophy with Spain. We couldn’t have been prouder of both men!

Noni Madueke hat-trick goal vs Wolves, 25 August

Fourteen second-half minutes was all it took for Noni Madueke to take an entertaining game away from Wolves. The winger completed a hat-trick of similar goals at Molineux with a smooth right-footed finish past Jose Sa, having benefitted from a Palmer pass for the third time in less than a quarter-of-an-hour.

Cole Palmer hat-trick goal vs Brighton, 28 September

He couldn’t, could he? Of course he could! With two goals already to his name, Palmer stepped back to take a free-kick a good 30 yards from goal. He didn’t have much to aim at, but still managed to find the very top corner to have Stamford Bridge gasping in admiration. There was even time for him to become the first player in Premier League history to score four goals in the first half of a game.

Johanna Rytting Kaneryd goal vs Tottenham, 20 October

A hard-fought London derby at Kingsmeadow was lit up by a moment of genius from Johanna Rytting Kaneryd. The Swede met Millie Bright’s deep cross on the full and guided her volley inside the far post from a tight angle to help us rack up a sixth straight win at the start of the Sonia Bompastor era.

Cole Palmer’s pass to Pedro Neto vs Newcastle, 27 October

A wonderful counter-attacking team goal was kickstarted by a moment of genius from Palmer, who was not far from the edge of his own defensive box when he spun and threaded a pass into Pedro Neto’s path. It still needed the Portuguese’s speed and awareness to dart into the vacant space and square for Jackson to apply the finishing touch to arguably our best team goal of 2024.

The goals raining down on Noah, 7 November

We recorded our biggest win in over a decade with an 8-0 humbling of Armenian side Noah at Stamford Bridge. Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku netted a brace apiece, and Marc Guiu opened his account for the club, as we ran riot, in the process recording the biggest Conference League victory ever.

Mayra Ramirez goal vs Man City, 16 November

Chelsea continued our flawless start to the new campaign with an impressive victory against our biggest title rivals Manchester City at Stamford Bridge. It took until the final quarter-hour of a cagey encounter for the deadlock to be broken, but the Blues were good value for our eventual 2-0 success as first Mayra Ramirez and then Guro Reiten produced a couple of quality finishes.

Enzo Fernandez goal vs Tottenham, 8 December

At 2-0 down away to Tottenham things weren’t looking good, but after Jadon Sancho and a Palmer penalty drew us level, Enzo Fernandez smashed a volley into the bottom corner to complete the turnaround and send the away fans into raptures. We even still had a Palmer Panenka to look forward to on what was a memorable afternoon in north London!

Here's to many more highlights in 2025!