You may not know or remember, but Chelsea FC are currently on tour in Asia, where they are scheduled to take part in two friendly matches. The first of the two has just concluded with the Blues riding out a 1-0 victory against the Thailand XI/All-Stars.
I have to admit that this is highly unprofessional from us here at The Pride of London as none of us have managed to get eyes on the game (it was screened exclusively on Chelsea TV), but fortunately some poor fella was charged with live-tweeting the match on Chelsea’s official Twitter account, from which I’ve managed to cobble together this match report.
Let’s begin with the starting line-ups:
Chelsea team to play the Thailand All-Stars: Cech (c); Aina, Ivanovic, Clarke-Salter, Ake; Mikel, Colkett; Remy , Boga, Brown; Solanke. #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 30, 2015
As you can see, boss Jose Mourinho opted for a youthful XI, with Petr Cech as captain and Branislav Ivanovic, Loic Remy and John Obi Mikel the only other recognisable senior players.
Also as you can see, there is only one line-up. That’s because no-one seems to want to tell me who’s playing for the Thailand All-Stars. Neither Chelsea’s Twitter nor the Daily Mail’s live text commentary have any info on that.
The subs?
Chelsea subs: Blackman, Azpilicueta, Terry , Christensen, Dasilva, Matic, Houghton, Musonda, Loftus-Cheek, Hazard, Diego Costa. #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 30, 2015
The big guns were on the bench for the start.
‘But just who are the Thailand All-Stars?’ I hear you ask. Well, after some googling an incomplete Wikipedia page has enlightened me. The team is formed from the best players in Thailand’s premier football competition, the Thai Premier League.
To the game then.
After a quiet start to the match, Dominic Solanke fired the Blues into the lead in the 13th minute. The Academy Player of the Year clinically put away a cross from right-back Temitayo Aina, which was flicked on by Loic Remy. It was apparently a ‘brilliant finish’ as he placed the ball in the bottom right corner.
Chelsea then started to play some neat football, with Boga, Brown, Ake and Remy linking up nicely before Cech was called upon to produce a diving save to prevent the Thai XI nabbing a goal. This was shortly followed by the first water-break of the match, as the humidity started to affect the players. Jose Mourinho looked bored:
Pound's gone down for a game of pool. pic.twitter.com/4XFGEVi079
— Jack Gaughan (@Jack_Gaughan) May 30, 2015
The only noticeable incident in the rest of the half was a strong challenge on Izzy Brown’s ankle, but Brown carried on after some treatment.
The second half brought an all-new XI for Mourinho’s men:
Chelsea second half XI: Blackman, Azpi, JT, Christensen, Dasilva, Matic, Houghton, Musonda, Loftus-Cheek, Hazard, Diego Costa. #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 30, 2015
The start of the 2nd half saw efforts from Hazard and Musonda go wide while Azpilicueta had an headed effort (seriously) go over the bar. Just before the next water-break midway through the half, Costa’s pass left Hazard one on one with the keeper but he failed to convert the opportunity.
Five minutes later the All-Stars had their first good chance as Andreas Christensen had to head the Thai team’s attempt off the line, a crucial and impressive intervention.
The match then sauntered on, with Diego Costa coming off in the 82nd minute for Solanke (rolling subs I gather) no doubt due to the injuries he was said to have picked up in training earlier in the week. It finished 1-0.
Well there you have it. I hope this has managed to inform you in some way as to what happened earlier today. Again, I apologise for really having no clue about what went on, but we can look at this as a learning experience for all of us. Or something.
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