Over the next week, football.london will be taking a look back at the key events at Stamford Bridge over an unforgettable 2022.
Pre-season began at Cobham with shots of a smiling Ben Chilwell back from his anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered the previous November. Chelsea would soon travel to the United States for the first time since 2016 for a tour beginning in Los Angeles and ending in Orlando, stopping along the way in Las Vegas and Carolina.
The first signing of the Todd Boehly and Clearlake era would be Raheem Sterling, bought for £45million from Manchester City, pictured in the new Nike shirt in front of the LA Palm trees. A few days later, another iconic landmark, another new signing. Kalidou Koulibaly posing with the Bellagio Fountain behind.
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There was excitement over the new faces and frequent activity of Chelsea across a short period, adding some experience to the squad for Tuchel who had personally pushed for Sterling. Both joined up with the squad on the eve of Chelsea's first friendly against Club America, beating the Mexican side 2-1 with Mason Mount scoring a stunning winner.
But frustrations from Tuchel began to grow; first Chelsea lost on penalties to MLS side Charlotte FC on penalties before being humbled 4-0 by Arsenal in Orlando to round off the trip. It was here when Tuchel began the give indications things behind the scenes were not going well.
"We have the same issues because we have the same players," Tuchel now infamously remarked. Chelsea returned to the UK with concerns growing over the nature of the Arsenal defeat, a Premier League rival who looked levels above an undercooked Blues side with the season fast approaching.
Chelsea did round off their pre-season with a 3-1 win over Serie A outfit Udinese the following Friday evening 3-1, with N'Golo Kante back fit and impressing.
Away from the pitch, transfer rumours continued to circulate: Marc Cucurella from Brighton quickly became a prime target after negotiations stalled with Manchester City. It was also in July when rumours emerged of Boehly's interest in signing Cristiano Ronaldo, something that would be cut short by Tuchel but would cause more friction than assumed at the time.
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