It was a mixed season for Ben Chilwell, who started the campaign in excellent form before cruelly seeing his involvement end through injury while Kenedy spent the first part of the season away from the club on loan.

Chilwell’s season

Ben had to remain patient to begin with, as Thomas Tuchel opted for Marcos Alonso at left wing-back in the opening weeks of the season.

Chilwell had been away with England at the Euros, despite not seeing much action, as the Three Lions lost to Italy in the Wembley final. Tuchel felt that the defender needed time to recover from his summer exploits and so took his time bedding Chilwell into the side.

He remained on the bench for the first six Premier League fixtures, along with our Super Cup win over Villarreal, although did feature in our Carabao Cup victories over Aston Villa and Southampton

Goal-getter

Once he did make his return to the starting line-up, Chilwell took his chance with both hands – scoring in his first three games back in the side as we defeated Southampton, Brentford and Norwich.

His goal against Brentford proved to be the winner, while he added a third in our home 3-1 win over the Saints to catapult us to the top of the Premier League table as the Blues really started to make the rest of the division sit up and take notice.

Injury blow

That’s why the timing of Chilwell’s injury came at such a crucial time – for both club and player – with the Blues and Ben both flying at the time.

The defender ruptured his anterior crucial ligament in his knee during our 4-0 Champions League win over Juventus in November, with the injury keeping him out for all but the remainder of the season.

Emotional return

Chilwell wasn’t expected to kick another ball in 2021/22 but the left-back was named as a substitute by Tuchel in our final game against Watford.

With the Blues leading 2-1 against the Hornets, Chilwell was thrown on in injury time to a standing ovation from the crowd to mark his return following six months on the sidelines.

Kenedy’s season

Kenedy actually began 2021/22 away from Chelsea, plying his trade for Flamengo back in his homeland of Brazil.

Following Chilwell’s injury, Kenedy was recalled from his loan in January to provide cover for Marcos Alonso and Malang Sarr and was part of the Chelsea squad that successfully lifted the Club World Cup for the first time in our history.

The Brazilian spent the rest of the season either on the bench or out of the squad, although he was handed a start on the final day of the season as the Blues defeated Watford at Stamford Bridge.

Kenedy assisted Kai Havertz for the opener in the 2-1 win before being replaced by Sarr just before the hour mark.

Ben Chilwell 2021/22 stats

Appearances: 13Starts: 9Substituted: 2Unused sub: 8Minutes played: 841

Kenedy 2021/22 stats

Appearances: 1Starts: 1Substituted: 1Unused sub: 7Minutes played: 59

Ben Chilwell Premier League appearances 2021/22

Ben Chilwell played seven games in the Premier League for Chelsea, coming off the bench in one of them.

Ben Chilwell Champions League appearances 2021/22

Ben Chilwell made four appearances in the Champions League this season, two as starts and two from the bench.

Ben Chilwell FA Cup appearances 2021/22

Ben Chilwell didn’t feature in the FA Cup this season.

Ben Chilwell Carabao Cup appearances 2021/22

Ben Chilwell played twice in the Carabao Cup this season, one as a start and the other from the bench.

Ben Chilwell Club World Cup and Super Cup appearances 2021/22

Ben Chilwell was an unused substitute in the Super Cup and didn’t feature at the Club World Cup.

Kenedy Premier League appearances 2021/22

Kenedy played once in the Premier League for Chelsea, starting the final game of the season.

Kenedy Champions League appearances 2021/22

Kenedy didn’t feature in the Champions League this season.

Kenedy FA Cup appearances 2021/22

Kenedy didn’t play in the FA Cup.

Kenedy Carabao Cup appearances 2021/22

Kenedy wasn’t used in the Carabao Cup this season.

Kenedy Club World Cup and Super Cup appearances 2021/22

Kenedy didn’t feature at the Club World Cup and he wasn’t selected in the Super Cup.