The Highs and Lows for Chelsea in 2015
It's been an eventful year at Chelsea to say the least.
The Blues started 2015 in the worst possible way when they were thrashed 5-3 by Tottenham Hotspur on New Year's Day at White Hart Lane.
From bad beginnings, it was all soon forgotten come May when they lifted the Premier League trophy as champions of England.
If that was the highest point, the only way since then has been down. Chelsea have endured some miserable moments these past six months, perhaps best defined by their current league form that sees them sitting just above the relegation zone.
Jose Mourinho has been sacked and the reigning Premier League champions seem to be lacking any direction. It's been tough.
With the above in mind and plenty more, join Bleacher Report as we look at some of Chelsea's highs and lows in the past calendar year.
High: Winning the Premier League Title Again
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It had been five years since Chelsea last won the Premier League, but Jose Mourinho ensured the club's drought ended in 2015.
Chelsea were formidable as they waltzed to the title, leading the Premier League from the opening weekend right through to the last.
The Blues were criticised at times for their pragmatic approach, but winning the title after 35 games was no mean feat.
It took everything to achieve, right from the manager down to the players who showed plenty of spark at times and equally the effort required to be champions.
Chelsea were undoubtedly England's best team in 2014/15, even if there were holes in Mourinho's squad that needed to be addressed in the pre-season to help them defend their title.
We're not ranking Chelsea's highs and lows, but if we were, winning the title would be top of the pile.
Low: Sacking Jose Mourinho
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From that title success, Jose Mourinho was sacked as Chelsea manager just seven months later.
It was a huge disappointment for Chelsea fans who adore Mourinho for being such a big part of the success the club has enjoyed this past decade.
The decision came on the back of an horrendous run of form. Mourinho's sacking was 72 hours after he had watched his side lose 2-1 to Leicester City, leaving them hovering just above the Premier League's relegation zone.
Regardless of whether or not they're champions, the board felt their bad spell had continued for too long and Mourinho faced the axe for the second time in his Chelsea career.
Any club losing a manager is a low point in their season; that it was Mourinho—a Chelsea legend—makes it even more so.
High: Winning the Capital One Cup Again
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Chelsea didn't just lift the Premier League trophy in 2015, they sealed more silverware in the form of the Capital One Cup to give them an unofficial league and cup double.
Having lost that opening game of 2015 to Tottenham, Chelsea got revenge by beating their London rivals in the Capital One Cup final at Wembley in March.
John Terry opened the scoring before Diego Costa's cross was deflected into his own net by Kyle Walker for a 2-0 win.
Victory at Wembley gave Chelsea the impetus they needed to go on and successfully complete their assault on the Premier League.
It was the third time in 10 years that Chelsea had lifted the League Cup—the fifth time in their history and 50 years since their first success in the competition in 1965.
Low: Flirting with a Relegation Scrap
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We may be close to welcoming the arrival of 2016, but in terms of Chelsea's league form, their nightmare end to the past 12 months is going to continue well into the new year.
Chelsea, the champions of England, head into 2016 sitting just three points above the relegation zone. If results go against them this coming weekend, it could be just goal difference that is keeping them out of the bottom three.
We can't kid ourselves in the slightest—Chelsea are in a relegation scrap. It's not a full-blown one yet, but it will be if the players allow it to continue for much longer.
Chelsea have won just five of their 19 league games this term, losing nine. They are yet to record back-to-back victories in the league all season.
For a club of Chelsea's size and with the players at their disposal, it's beyond belief that they have found themselves in this situation.
It's been a significant low point—not just this season, but in the club's history.
High: The Chelsea Fans' Continuing Support of the Club
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Chelsea fans have to put with a lot. Not only have they been dubbed "plastics" in recent times, but the success of the club has come at a cost where their voice isn't always heard.
This season, however, Chelsea fans have put right a few wrongs.
The way they have stood by the club through the dark times this season has been exemplary. Very few supporters would continue backing their side through what Chelsea fans have endured in 2015/16.
When it seemed Jose Mourinho would be sacked in November, the Stamford Bridge crowd came together against Dynamo Kiev to applaud the man they still regard as the "Special One."
That moment was rare in modern football, with manager and supporter sharing an emotional bond during a must-win game for Chelsea. They eventually got three points to strengthen their Champions League hopes that night, too.
It showed Chelsea fans on the whole are anything but fickle, not allowing a poor season to cloud their judgement on what the manager has achieved in the past.
That sort of fan culture has helped hold Chelsea together at a time when the club could have very easily crumbled.
There were boos for some players when Mourinho was eventually sacked in December, but that brief mutiny has been forgotten with the fans backing interim boss Guus Hiddink to get them out of the mire.
Chelsea fans should pat themselves on the back. Their support has been one of the major highs for the club in 2015.
Low: Selling Petr Cech
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He's just broken the Premier League's clean-sheet record and there isn't a Chelsea fan across the world who wouldn't have wanted Petr Cech to reach that milestone in their club's colours, not Arsenal's.
Cech was a wonderful servant during the decade he spent at Chelsea, but with the emergence of Thibaut Courtois, the Blues had to make a difficult decision last summer and choose between the future or the past.
Chelsea rightly chose the future in Courtois, meaning Cech departed Stamford Bridge.
He remains a hero in west London, but Chelsea fans will lament the fact that he left for another capital club and that it had to be bitter rivals Arsenal.
Cech has strengthened the Gunners' back line, too, helping them to top the table heading into 2016.
Losing him was inevitable, but it remains a low point for Chelsea in 2015.
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
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