Claudia Ranieri took Chelsea to fourth position in the league at the end of the 2002- 03 season as Gianfranco Zola was in outstanding form for the club in what proved to be his last season playing for the club. Jimmy Floyd Hasslebank and Eidur Gudjohnsen were in prolific form in front of goal. The Blues were unfortunate in the FA Cup, suffering a narrow defeat against Arsenal. They were poor in the UEFA Cup, crashing out of the first round, suffering defeat against Viking.
Chelsea F.C became a dominant force in English football the following campaign as change of ownership saw the arrival of many new players at the club, including, Joe Cole, Glen Johnson, Scott Parker, Juan Veron, Hernan Crespo and Damien Duff. The club were emphatic and would usually have won the league if it was not for Arsenals brilliance in the premiership. A second place finish was Chelsea’s finest league finish since winning the title in the 1954 -55 season. They achieved a fine run in the Champions league however they could not progress in to the final as they failed to defeat French outfit, Monaco, in the semi finals.
Jose Mourinho was installed as the new Chelsea manager at the start of the 2004 -05 season and the response was immediate. The Blues won their first league title in 50 years as they comfortably won the league with few weeks to spare. Arjen Robben, Frank Lampard and John Terry were all in outstanding form for the Blues. They won a ‘double,’ as they enjoyed defeating Liverpool in the league cup final, Kezman appeared on the score sheet in a 3-1 victory for the Blues. Liverpool did gain revenge on Chelsea in the champion’s league as they defeated the Blues in the semi finals, a highly disputed goal settled the encounter.
Chelsea dominated the premiership during the 2005 -06 season and their new signing, Didier Drogba proved to be good value for money. The Blues won the league in the most emphatic fashion. They could not manage Champions league success as a Ronaldinho inspired Barcelona side defeated Chelsea in the second round of the competition.