Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea side kick-started their 2022/23 pre-season with a 2-1 win against Club America.
The first half rarely got going as players just tried to regain full fitness. Thiago Silva had the best chance of the opening 45 minutes, forcing a good save from Óscar Francisco Jiménez.
Chelsea started the second half on the front foot, with Timo Werner scoring from Reece James’ cross. Soon after though, James netted at the wrong end to draw Club America level but with eight minutes to go, Mason Mount scored a screamer from outside of the box to give Chelsea the win.
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Such a win will give the squad a much needed boost as they approach the beginning of the new season.
Here are five things Absolute Chelsea learned from the pre-season win in Las Vegas over Club America.
1) Conor Gallagher will be hoping for a big campaign
After an impressive campaign with Crystal Palace last season, Conor Gallagher will be hoping to impress and get a chance with the Chelsea side this season.
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Tuchel has already admitted that he intends to keep Conor and give the youngster a chance to shine. In the game against Club America, the young midfielder dictated proceedings.
He looked sharp, was pressing from the off and his passing was on-point in what was a solid display from the Englishman.
Pre-season is a chance for players to regain match fitness. With that being said, it’s as if Conor has been match-ready for a while.
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2) It’s too early to start judging players
In the showdown with Club America, there may be a few fans disappointed with some of the key players’ performances.
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As of right now, it’s too early to start judging them, especially considering it’s the first pre-season match of the campaign.
With the Premier League a few weeks away, for Chelsea, it’s a chance for players to get a feel of a game situation again and build themselves up for regular action.
Of course in pre-season, there are going to be a few passes that don’t reach their intended target, but that is just the nature of the schedule. Give it another week or so and players will be raring to go.
3) Trevoh Chalobah is in for a big season
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Cast your mind back to pre-season of 2021, and Trevoh Chalobah featured throughout the build up to the 2021/22 league campaign, with many thinking he would be in for another season at a different club.
However, what happened next was truly remarkable.
Trevoh would go on to impress so much, he would earn himself a regular starting spot within the side and put in several wonderful performances in a Chelsea shirt, therefore this season, the centre back will be looking to push on even further.
Both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen have left the club this summer, so Trevoh will be chomping at the bit to pick up from where he left off last season.
4) Ben Chilwell’s chance to shine
Last season was an unfortunate one for Ben Chilwell.
Just before the midway point of the campaign, the full-back suffered a heartbreaking injury which ruled him out for the rest of the season.
When you pick up these big injuries, it’s tough to get back into the full swing of things as soon as possible.
In the fixture against Club America, Ben Chilwell played 45 minutes in his first game of the season.
Chilwell’s situation was the same as the majority of the team, it was a case of getting back to full fitness and getting the feel of playing football again, and it will be intriguing to see how the Englishman performs this season after so much time spent on the sidelines.
5) A big year ahead for the forward line
Last season, the Blues struggled for an out and out goalscorer in the side as no player at the club was able to pick up 20 goals in all competitions.
This summer so far, Romelu Lukaku has departed the club and returned back to Inter Milan.
Unfortunately for the Chelsea faithful, it just didn’t work out for the Belgium international and now heading into this campaign, it doesn’t look as if the club will invest in another forward.
The likes of Kai Havertz, Werner, Raheem Sterling, Armando Broja, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Mount, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic will all offer options along the forward line.
With Lukaku gone, it’s the perfect chance for Werner and Havertz to maybe lead the attack and get some goals under their belts as the club look to challenge on all fronts.
Chelsea’s next pre-season fixture is against Charlotte FC on the 21 July.
James Evans