A brief summary of the first half.
Before the final few minutes, it was as good as the Chelsea fans could’ve hoped for after a dismal showing against Arsenal.
The Blues were fully in control of the game and should’ve scored more than twice.
The front three showed some very nice interplay, but the first goal was solely an individual effort from Kante. Sterling was a bit lucky in scoring the second goal shortly afterwards.
It looked as if the Blues were a bit distracted after that, though, as the defence was non-existent when Deulofeu pulled one back – although Mendy could’ve played much better too.
Half-time. Chelsea are 2-1 up in Udine.
⌚ 42′ Udinese pull one goal back. Some shoddy defending that, no one was near Deulofeu when he scored.
Alex Goldberg, Twitter: “A bit confused where our midfield was to stop that Udinese run…?”
JennyTellYa Mikel, Reddit: “So weak by Mendy. Push it WAY away, almost looks like he got stuck between pushing and simply catching it”
37′ GOOOOOAAAAL! STERLING! Was not the prettiest but who cares?
London Is Blue Podcast, Twitter: “Some excellent ‘Never Give Up, Never Surrender’ vibes from Sterling on that attack.”
⌚ 36′ Koulibaly slides in to stop Udinese’s counterattack. Solid game for the newcomer so far.
depp05, We Ain’t Got No History: “Imagine what could have been if we could have gotten KK out of Napoli, all those years ago.”
⌚ 30′ That was a great strike…
⌚ 22′ Another link-up between Mount and Sterling leads to a good chance for Mason. Shortly, Havertz has an opportunity to score as well. All Chelsea
ChairSoggy6394, Reddit: “Sterling is scary good. How can he already have adjusted this well? Havertz on the other hand is the most nonchalant striker in the PL.”
chiefBlueCFC, The Shed End: “I am enjoying Sterling in Chelsea blue. Really happy to see Kante back with the first team again.”
⚽ 20′ GOOOOOAAAAAAAL! N’GOLO KANTE!
Nizaar Kinsella, Twitter: “I guess Chelsea missed him even in pre-season. What a goal. World class from Kante.”
It’sTheNopeThatKills, We Ain’t Got No History: “This is sorcery. A midfielder running forward and shooting? WTF is this? I hate it. Bring back stale neutral bollocks.”
⌚ 20′ First save of the night for Mendy, very easy for him.
⌚ 13′ Mount tried to score with a light flick at the near post but was denied.
TheMenaceX, Reddit: “How tf did Mount even get that on target? I was there like Reece should’ve gone back post but gg”
robertnhanson, We Ain’t Got No History: “This is easily the best we’ve looked in pre-season, which is a good sign.”
⌚ 11′ All Chelsea so far. Which is a nice change.
krooked13, Reddit: “Feel like we’ve already spent more time in the opponents’ box than we did during the entire Arsenal match”
⌚ 7′ Great chance for Sterling! The forward breezes past a defender after receiving the ball from Mount but fails to beat the keeper.
MarkovCocktail, Reddit: “Damn you really wanted to see Sterling score that, but my god what a great touch in the box that was. That interplay between him and Mason could be crucial this season”
⌚ 6′ Havertz brought down in the box, but the referee ignores it.
CFCMod_, Twitter: “Even the opposition thought it was a penalty”
⌚ 1′ Kick-off! Come on you Blues!
Worth mentioning that the two sides will play another training match on Saturday morning.
Kovacic, Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Bettinelli, Gallagher, Chilwell, Ziyech, Sarr and Broja have travelled with the squad to Italy but are not in the squad for today’s game. That means they are likely to play tomorrow.
👉 In case you missed it, here’s Chelsea’s squad for the game.
Starting XI: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Koulibaly; James, Kante, Jorginho, Alonso; Mount, Havertz, Sterling
Subs: Kepa, Emerson, Kenedy, Gilmour, Hudson-Odoi, Vale.
👋 Hello and welcome to Dacia Arena! Today, Chelsea are finishing their pre-season with a friendly against Serie A side Udinese.
It may not be an official game, but Thomas Tuchel and fans will look for a response on the players’ part after a 4-0 humbling against Arsenal.