Chelsea play their final game of their 2022 United States pre-season tour on Sunday morning (UK) against Arsenal at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
Thomas Tuchel’s side have been based on the east coast for the week following the stay on the west coast in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, before heading east.
They made the short trip in midweek to North Carolina to face Charlotte FC, which saw them lose 5-3 on penalties after it ended 1-1 in 90 minutes.
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It leaves Chelsea with a 50 per cent win record during their tour so far following the 2-1 victory against Club America last weekend in Vegas.
Tuchel wasn’t happy with his side’s performance in Charlotte, slamming the lack of effort, structure and hunger shown in the second half.
“In general, I would say we played a good first half but unfortunately, only 80 metres of the pitch,” said the Chelsea boss. “The last 20 metres of the pitch were not good enough, even in the first half. We found a lot of spaces to accelerate and penetrate the box but we struggled with our decision-making and precision in the last 20 metres.
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"This was simply not good enough for the effort and quality we showed in the first 80 metres of the pitch and the amount of space we had, and the number of attacks we created, there were not enough clear chances and deliveries in the last 20 metres.
"We also have to say we allowed two big chances out of nothing in the first half, otherwise I think we played a very good match in all the other aspects.
"Second half, it took us half an hour to show some quality and then it was maybe for ten minutes, so it was not good at all. Not offensively, not structure-wise, not in effort, hunger to be the dominant team. It was not good enough."
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Kepa Arrizabalaga, Cesar Azpilicueta, Ross Barkley and Timo Werner all missed the game due to injury, while Kalidou Koulibaly wasn’t deemed ready and could make his first Blues appearance against their London rivals.
Werner and Azpilicueta were back in training on Friday, while Arrizabalaga and Barkley continued to be absent.
Raheem Sterling played, unofficially, for the first time since joining the club and is set to get more minutes under his belt with the season just two weeks away.
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When is the match?
It will take place on Sunday 24th July at 1am (UK) time.
Where is the match?
The pre-season friendly will be held at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
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How can I watch the match?
The fixture will be available to watch on the official Chelsea website, as well as the club’s 5th Stand App.
Matthew Debono