Chelsea have no European football at all this season. That’s the reality after Sunderland beat them to the final continental spot on the last day of the 2025-26 campaign, a result that left the two-time Champions League winner sitting outside Europe entirely. Anyone checking the Premier League betting odds for a top-four finish will see just how far Chelsea have slipped.
It capped a difficult year where Chelsea finished 10ᵗʰ in the league and lost the FA Cup Final to Manchester City on top of it. Two head coaches came and went before the club turned to Xabi Alonso, appointed on a four-year deal and in position at Stamford Bridge since July 1.
So, what does the road back to the Champions League actually look like? Here’s a look at Alonso’s early approach, the players Chelsea are building the rebuild around, and the European pedigree the club can still draw on.
A season without Europe
Missing out on Europe entirely gives Chelsea a rare block of free midweeks, and it puts the pressure squarely on their league form. Sunderland’s win on the final day wasn’t a fluke either, Chelsea had been drifting for months before that finish. The upside is a squad largely built for continental competition now aimed entirely at climbing the table.
Xabi Alonso’s blueprint
Alonso arrives with a title on his CV already, having led Bayer Leverkusen to their first-ever Bundesliga crown unbeaten in 2023-24. That’s the calling card he brings to Stamford Bridge. Early on, he’s already been vocal about what he wants from his senior players, calling Cole Palmer a “special talent” and pushing hard to keep Enzo Fernandez rather than sell him. It suggests continuity built around Chelsea’s existing core rather than a total rebuild.
The players Chelsea are building around
Palmer remains the focal point going forward, having contributed 54 goals and 32 assists in his first 131 games for the club. Fernandez and Moises Caicedo give Alonso a settled midfield pairing, while Reece James and Levi Colwill’s fitness records will matter as much as their ability if Chelsea are to sustain a top-four push over 38 games. The summer additions of Morgan Rogers, Geovany Quenda and Marco Palestra add fresh legs across midfield, the wide areas and full-back.
Pedigree from Europe’s past
Chelsea aren’t short of continental history to lean on. They won the Champions League in 2012, beating Bayern Munich on penalties in Munich, and again in 2021 against Manchester City in Porto. Add last year’s Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup wins, and Chelsea are one of only a handful of clubs to have won every major UEFA trophy on offer. That history won’t get them back into the competition on its own, but it’s a reminder of what this club is capable of once they’re actually in it. For those following football betting markets through the season, Chelsea’s price for a top-four finish will move plenty as Alonso’s team starts to take shape.
Getting back into the Champions League starts with fixing the league form that cost them a place in Europe altogether. Alonso has the players and the precedent behind him. Whether that’s enough over a full season is the question Chelsea have to answer.