The defeat for Chelsea against Brighton on Tuesday evening was historic. It was the Blues' fifth straight defeat... and their fifth straight match without scoring. Something that has not happened since 1912.
We have to go back 114 years in history to find such a poor run of defeats without Chelsea scoring a single goal. And it came in a completely different era.
With just over ten years still to go before the opening of Wembley and before the offside rule was changed – requiring only two opponents between the goal line and the last attacker – Chelsea were still in their early seasons.
Under the management of David Calderhead and with goals from top scorer Bob Whittingham, the Blues had earned promotion to the top flight in the 1911/12 season. The return to the First Division, however, was difficult.
Between 19 October and 16 November, Chelsea lost five matches in a row without finding the net. During that run, they lost to Bradford City (3-0), Manchester City (2-0), West Bromwich Albion (2-0), Everton (1-0) and Sheffield Wednesday (4-0).
Vivian Woodward ended the goal drought against Blackburn Rovers in the sixth match, with a 1-1 draw, and the team returned to winning ways soon after against Derby County, when Whittingham finally scored again in a 3-1 victory. That season, the London side were satisfied with simply avoiding relegation.
This current 21st century run, with defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion (3-0), Manchester United (1-0), Manchester City (3-0), Everton (3-0) and Newcastle United (1-0), matches the 1912 sequence as Chelsea's worst goal-free losing run.
But there is still an even worse losing run, albeit one that included goals.
In the 1952/53 season, Chelsea lost seven matches in a row in the English top flight. One team featured in all three cases: Man City, who beat them 4-0 at the old Maine Road in 1952.
In Chelsea's worst ever losing run in the English top flight, they also lost to Sheffield Wednesday (1-0), Cardiff City (2-0), Newcastle (2-1), West Brom (2-0), Middlesbrough (4-0) and Man Utd (3-2). Just as in 1913, the team managed to avoid relegation.
So, Liam Rosenior still has an unwanted record to avoid. In his press conference after the defeat to Brighton, the coach described the performance as 'unacceptable' and 'indefensible'.
Chelsea are currently seventh in the Premier League and return to action on Sunday in the FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United at Wembley. They do not play again in the league until May 4th, when they face relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge.