page_title: 2017–18 Chelsea F.C. season
section_title: September
hierarchical_section_title: 2017–18 Chelsea F.C. season / Month by month review / September
caption_attribution_description: 9.9.17
context_page_description: The 2017–18 season was Chelsea's 104th competitive season, 29th consecutive season in the top flight of English football, 26th consecutive season in the Premier League and 112th year in existence as a football club. The season covered the period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018.
  The season was the first without club legend John Terry after he departed on a free transfer following 22 years with the club. Chelsea returned to the UEFA Champions League after a single season's absence and entered the Premier League season as defending champions. The season was also Chelsea's first under the new kit deal with Nike, the most lucrative commercial deal in the history of the club.
context_section_description: On 1 September, Loïc Rémy left the club to sign for La Liga club Las Palmas on a two-year contract for a reported free transfer.
  On 9 September, Chelsea earned a 2–1 away victory at Leicester City, making it a third Premier League victory in a row. N'Golo Kanté scored the second goal for the Blues against his former club. Davide Zappacosta made his debut for Chelsea while Eden Hazard returned from injury, coming on as a substitute.
  On 12 September, Chelsea marked their return to the UEFA Champions League with a 6–0 thrashing of Azerbaijani champions Qarabağ, who made their first ever appearance in Europe's elite competition. Goals from Pedro, César Azpilicueta, Tiémoué Bakayoko, Michy Batshuayi, as well as a goal from Zappacosta on his first start for Chelsea and an own goal by Qarabağ player Maksim Medvedev, sent the Blues to the top of their group after the first round of fixtures.
  On 17 September, Chelsea hosted rivals Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, who managed to emerge with a point by drawing 0–0 with the Blues. It was a frustrating match for Chelsea, who created several opportunities to score but could not find a cutting edge against a well-drilled Arsenal side. The game was also marred by David Luiz receiving a red card in the second half for a high tackle on Sead Kolašinac, with the defender set to miss Chelsea's next three matches as a result. His red card amounts to Chelsea's third red card of the season. The result sees the Blues remaining in third place, three points behind joint leaders Manchester United and Manchester City.
  On 20 September, Chelsea hosted Nottingham Forest in the third round of the EFL Cup, defeating the Championship club 5–1 to advance to the next round. Amongst the goalscorers was Batshuayi, who completed a hat-trick with a goal in the first half and two further goals in the second half. Kenedy and Charly Musonda also got on the scoresheet and youngster Ethan Ampadu made his first senior Chelsea appearance as a second-half substitute.
  On 21 September, the long-protracted transfer saga surrounding exiled striker Diego Costa came to an end as Chelsea agreed a fee with Atlético Madrid for his transfer, to be completed in January after the expiry of the Spanish club's transfer ban. He left Chelsea having scored 58 goals in 120 appearances for the Blues, including 20 in the Premier League last season as Chelsea won the title.
  On 23 September, Chelsea earned a fourth Premier League victory in five matches after thrashing Stoke City 4–0 away. Álvaro Morata opened the scoring for the Blues, with Pedro adding a second before half-time. Morata completed a hat-trick in the second half, Chelsea's first Premier League hat-trick since 2014, to keep the Blues in third position and within three points of the two Manchester clubs at the top of the table.
  On 27 September, Chelsea beat Atlético Madrid 2–1 away in a Champions League group stage match, making history in the process by becoming the first ever English club to defeat Atlético away from home in a European competition. Chelsea fell behind late in the first half after David Luiz conceded a penalty, which Antoine Griezmann converted. Morata leveled proceedings early in the second half with a header. The match looked to be finishing as a draw until Batshuayi snatched a winner for Chelsea at the death. The result sees the Blues go top of Group C, four points ahead of Atlético and Roma after two matches.
  On 30 September, three days after their Champions League heroics, Chelsea lost 1–0 at Stamford Bridge to league leaders Manchester City in a very poor performance that culminated in Chelsea only having two shots on target in the entire match. The defeat saw the gap between the two sides widen to six points, with Chelsea slipping into fourth.
  Source:
caption: Tiémoué Bakayoko and Marcos Alonso toast victory at Leicester City.
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