Ranking Chelsea's 5 Lowest Moments of the 2014/15 Season

There have been some incredible highs for Chelsea this season.

Jose Mourinho's side have led the Premier League since the opening weekend, with some excellent performances along the way reinstating their tag as favourites to lift the title.

There was that opening 3-0 win against Burnley when Andre Schurrle scored an early Goal of the Season contender, a 6-3 thrashing of Everton and, more recently, an equally impressive 5-0 drubbing of Swansea City.

The current campaign hasn't been without its problems, though, and come May, regardless of whether Chelsea are crowned champions, there will be some periods of 2014/15 that Mourinho won't be in a hurry to remember.

Join us as we count down the lowest moments in Chelsea's season.

5. The "Campaign" Against Chelsea

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Jose Mourinho is right to defend his players and attempt to ensure they receive protection from match officials, especially when Eden Hazard ranks as the most fouled player in the Premier League.

After all, if the manager doesn't protect his players, who will? Clearly not referees, he will argue.

Mourinho took things too far with his quotes about a "campaign" against Chelsea.

Rather than dealing with the issue at hand—notably some poor refereeing decisions that have gone against his team—it's turned any form of debate into a farce.

The media has run with it, and rather than assisting Mourinho's cause, there's an argument to suggest Chelsea are worse off as a result.

Given it's Chelsea and Mourinho, headlines are never too far away, so with each decision that has been made, the Blues have often been big news.

The club doesn't need it and neither does Mourinho.

4. The Humbling of White Hart Lane

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

New year, new beginnings.

Only it proved the worst sort for Chelsea on New Year's Day when they visited White Hart Lane.

By this stage, a defeat to Newcastle a month earlier had ended talk that Chelsea could go an entire Premier League season undefeated.

But losing 5-3 to Tottenham Hotspur killed stone dead any hint of there being an "invincible" element about Chelsea.

The Blues were well and truly humbled, as Harry Kane bagged a brace in a performance that dominated the back line.

Chelsea had taken the lead through Diego Costa and looked in control of the game. But as we have seen too often this season, it's after scoring the first goal that Jose Mourino's side look most vulnerable.

Coming against archrivals Spurs, of all teams, their New Year's Day humbling ranks high among the disappointments of 2014/15.

3. Losing to Bradford City in the FA Cup

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

When Ramires scored in the 38th minute against Bradford City in the fourth round of the FA Cup, the Brazilian seemed to book Chelsea's place in the next round with it.

Jose Mourinho's side were 2-0 up, at home and playing against League 1 opposition.

Then the unthinkable happened. Chelsea collapsed.

Bradford, with nothing to lose, threw everything at the Blues and got more than they bargained for at Stamford Bridge.

The Bantams found a team without fight and one lacking any sort of leadership on the pitch.

It was a remarkable afternoon for football, as Bradford went on to win the game 4-2. But for Chelsea, it was a considerable reality check for where the squad found itself.

They have done plenty since to repair any psychological damage, yet the fact remains that when the chips are down, it's not often they have the answers.

And for a team led by Mourinho, that's a big concern.

2. Being Knocked out of the Champions League

With an away goal putting them in a commanding position heading into the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie with Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea's position was strengthened further when Zlatan Ibrahimovic was sent off in the first half.

Then Gary Cahill scored in the 81st minute to make it 2-1 on aggregate, and Chelsea, in front of their home crowd, looked like they were sailing through to the quarter-final.

Not so.

David Luiz equalised to take the game to extra time, and despite Eden Hazard scoring a penalty, Chelsea allowed Thiago Silva to score a header to level at 2-2 on the night.

That meant PSG were going through on the away-goals rule (3-3 on aggregate), and with six minutes remaining, Chelsea couldn't find a way back.

It was a big disappointment. Not only was the performance over both legs so abject, but when the time called for it, Chelsea's biggest names just didn't turn up.

After reaching the Champions League semi-final a year earlier, Jose Mourinho's team were expected to be among the teams fighting it out in Europe until the bitter end.

Instead, they were just also-rans.

1. The Paris Metro Incident

*Warning: The above clip contains scenes some viewers may find offensive.

When Chelsea travelled to Paris Saint-Germain for the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie, we should have been left debating the football we saw on the night.

Not long after the final whistle, it was something far different altogether, however.

First and foremost, what happened on the Paris Metro when a small group of Chelsea fans racially abused a black passenger had nothing to do with Chelsea Football Club.

It was a shocking incident, and one that was totally beyond the club's control.

What it did do, however, was put Chelsea firmly under the spotlight like never before, with the fans and those who run the club held under scrutiny from the world's media.

Chelsea's reaction was exemplary, with Jose Mourinho and senior officials going on record to condemn the actions of those fans involved in the incident, which was captured on video by another Metro passenger and published on YouTube by The Guardian newspaper.

Chelsea apologised, and in an attempt to put things right, it invited the victim, Souleymane S, to be a guest at Stamford Bridge for the return fixture.

In many ways, the subsequent reaction showed Chelsea in a positive light. Everyone connected with the club joined forces to root out those involved, and the show of support for the victim by fans inside Stamford Bridge was a positive one.

That said, there will be few who disagree that the whole incident marks the lowest point of Chelsea's season.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes.