Chelsea's 6 Best Moments This Season

To say that Chelsea have had better seasons would be somewhat of an understatement.

In recent years, it has become expected of Chelsea to go into the summer with at least one important trophy, such as the Premier League, Champions League or the FA Cup.

At the time of writing, the only trophy that the Blues can add to their trophy cabinet this year is the Europa League—a competition that they would not even have expected to be involved in, had you asked them last August.

However, to say that the season has been a total write-off would be inaccurate. Looking back, Chelsea fans have been given many moments to make them smile this year.

Here are six of Chelsea's best moments of the 2012-13 season.

Oscar Arrives with a Juventus Brace

You would be hard-pressed to find a better European debut than that of Oscar, when Chelsea played Juventus in the first round of the 2012-13 Champions League.

Just one goal—his first for Chelsea—would have been impressive enough, but Oscar added a second that might just be the goal of the season.

It seemed as though Oscar had let the ball get away from him with a poor first touch after receiving a pass from Ashley Cole. But it soon became apparent that the midfielder knew what he was doing, when he curled a right-footed shot into the corner of the goal.

Had Chelsea not gone on to give away the two-goal lead, and later exit the competition in the first round, it might have been that much sweeter. As it is, it was still a special performance from the Brazilian.

Steamrolling Aston Villa

December was a rough time for Chelsea fans.

The Blues were slipping out of the title race, they were led by a manager that they did not like—let alone trust—and the latest rumors claimed that Frank Lampard would not be offered a new contract.

But on December 23, Chelsea fans were given one evening to celebrate—and celebrate eight times over, as that is how many goals they put past a poor Aston Villa side.

Not only that, but there were seven different scorers. Had Piazon converted a late penalty, there could have been nine. It was certainly no time to be greedy, however, and eight was more than enough.

Defeat of Man United (and Again, and Again)

Manchester United may have won the Premier League this season, but of the five times they played the Blues during the campaign, it was Chelsea who came out on top.

Chelsea were victorious three times in three different competitions this season, and each victory was great and important in its own special way.

The first came in the Capital One Cup. Manchester United had just defeated the Blues in the league, and Chelsea were out for vengeance in the cup tie that took place just three days later. In the end, it was extra-time goals from Daniel Sturridge and Ramires that were enough to send the Blues through to the next round.

The two teams met once more in the quarterfinal of the FA Cup. After fighting back from two goals down in the first leg, Chelsea took the tie back to Stamford Bridge and came out on top thanks to a spectacular goal from Demba Ba.

The most recent victory was perhaps the most important of all, all things considered. A late, deflected Juan Mata strike meant that Chelsea remained the best-placed team to qualify for the Champions League next season.

David Luiz Stunner Against FC Basel

After giving Chelsea an important lead in the 94th minute of the first leg of this Europa League semifinal tie, you would forgive David Luiz for putting his feet up, knowing that he had done his part.

But the Brazilian was not finished with FC Basel just yet, and added this spectacular goal to grant Chelsea a place in the Europa League final.

4-2 Defeat of Tottenham

It might seem difficult to remember right now, but there was a time when Chelsea were still contenders for the Premier League, when Roman Abramovich was content and when Roberto Di Matteo was still the manager at Stamford Bridge.

Having won one London derby contest over Arsenal in the previous weeks, Chelsea traveled back across the city to take on Spurs at White Hart Lane.

The result was an important 4-2 victory, and a glorious volleyed goal by defender-turned-striker Gary Cahill.

Frank Lampard Scores 202 and 203

Frank Lampard was a Chelsea legend long before he scored those two goals against Aston Villa. However, if there was anything that could cement Lampard's legendary status, it was scoring goals 202 and 203 for the club and overtaking Bobby Tambling as Chelsea's all-time leading goalscorer.

As if the moment needed to be any more historic, it was Lampard's two goals that not only gave the Blues the victory, but guaranteed their place in the Champions League for next year. 

...and Europa League Victory?

There is still a chance to add one more great moment this season, should Chelsea win on Wednesday.

Chelsea FC, 2013 Europa League Champions? Watch this space.