Chelsea's numbers last season

[Getty Images] Chelsea finished a disappointing 10th last season but the fact that they had the fourth-best expected goal difference shows that things maybe weren't quite as bleak as the table suggests. While five teams had more shots than the Blues, only Brentford and Crystal Palace created better chances (even if you exclude penalties), meaning only Manchester City had a higher expected goals figure. The problem was taking their chances. Despite only five teams having a better shot-conversion rate, Chelsea actually scored eight goals fewer than expected given the chances they had, with only Crystal Palace and Wolves worse (or unluckier) in front of goal. The opposite was true at the back. Only the top two faced fewer shots but Chelsea gave up the best chances in the league, so it's no surprise that only relegated Wolves conceded a higher percentage of their opponents' shots. Only two teams underperformed their xG numbers by more than Chelsea last season, so while there's a lot for new manager Xabi Alonso to work on, there's a lot for him to work with as well. [BBC]