[2] However, on 21 November 2012, Di Matteo was sacked[3] after a 3–0 loss away to Juventus in the UEFA Champions League, with Rafael Benítez replacing him as interim manager until the end of the season.

[5] Three days later, the club lost a bid to purchase nearby Battersea Power Station which they considered converting to a stadium and make it their new home ground.

[11] Chelsea played their first competitive match of the season in the Community Shield at Villa Park on 12 August, but lost 3–2 to Manchester City and had Branislav Ivanović sent off.

[12] The club officially announced the signings of Spanish right-back César Azpilicueta from Marseille and forward Victor Moses from Wigan Athletic on 24 August.

[19] Two more players left Chelsea on season-long loans the same day, as Yossi Benayoun went to West Ham United and Gaël Kakuta joined Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem.

On 3 September Chelsea sold Portuguese midfielder Raul Meireles to Turkish club Fenerbahçe for £8 million, due to Turkey's transfer window closing later than England's.

[27] On 29 September, Chelsea became the first team of the season to defeat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, with a 1–2 victory which put the Blues three points clear at the top after six matches.

[39] Chelsea kept up hope of qualifying from their Champions League group by defeating Shakhtar Donetsk 3–2 at home with an injury-time winner from Victor Moses on 7 November.

[46] Chelsea midfielder Mikel John Obi was charged with misconduct by the FA after his allegations of racial abuse against referee Mark Clattenburg in the October fixture against Manchester United were found to be baseless.

[51] Three days later, Chelsea confirmed the signing of Brazil under-20 right back Wallace from Rio de Janeiro-based club Fluminense for an undisclosed fee.

[56] Chelsea entered the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup at the semi-final stage, where they beat CONCACAF champions Monterrey of Mexico 3–1 on 13 December,[57] before losing 1–0 in the final to Corinthians of Brazil in the Yokohama Stadium three days later.

[58] The club returned to England with a 5–1 home victory in the League Cup against Leeds United on 19 December, coming from a goal down at half-time to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.

[61] A third consecutive Premier League victory was confirmed in the last match of 2012, which saw Frank Lampard score twice as Chelsea came from behind to win 1–2 away to Everton on 30 December, ending the Liverpool-based club's unbeaten home season.

[64] The year opened with a 0–1 home defeat to bottom-of-the-table West London rivals QPR, with the goal coming from former Chelsea winger Shaun Wright-Phillips.

[66] On 9 January, two defensive mistakes from defender Branislav Ivanović caused a 0–2 home loss in the League Cup first semi-final leg tie against Swansea City.

[69] The Blues then defeated London rivals Arsenal 2–1 on 20 January, with early goals from Juan Mata and Frank Lampard cutting Chelsea's deficit behind second-place Manchester City to six points.

[71] In the Fourth Round of the FA Cup, on 27 January, Chelsea went behind twice before a late Fernando Torres equaliser forced a replay against fellow West London club Brentford of League One.

[80] In their last game of the month, on 27 February, Chelsea won away in their FA Cup 5th round tie against Middlesbrough with second-half goals from Ramires and Victor Moses.

[82] On 7 March 2013, Chelsea lost the first leg of their last 16 Europa League tie away against Steaua București, with Ryan Bertrand conceding a penalty which was converted as the only goal of the match.

[84] Chelsea managed to overturn their Europa League deficit with a 3–1 victory to advance 3–2 on aggregate, in a match in which Fernando Torres scored the winning goal.

[86] Three days later, the club won their first leg Europa League tie against Russian side Rubin Kazan 3–1 with two goals from Fernando Torres and one from Victor Moses.

[97] Stats as of end of season[98] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Source: 2012–13 Premier League squad Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Source: 2012–13 UEFA Champions League squad Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Source: 2012–13 UEFA Europa League squad Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.