Chelsea FC earlier tonight took the field for the last of their pre-season fixtures before the start of the Premier League on Saturday. After putting in shabby, disappointing performances in their four previous warm-ups, tonight was no different as the Blues fell to Fiorentina 1-0.
Chelsea fielded a much-changed team from the one that lined-up at Wembley Stadium for the FA Community Shield last Sunday. John Terry was the only starting survivor from the meeting with Arsenal, in which they also lost 1-0. Ruben Loftus-Cheek was with John Obi Mikel in the centre of midfield while Ola Aina and surprisingly Bertrand Traore filled the right- and left-back roles respectively. Diego Costa did not feature in the matchday squad and Radamel Falcao started.
The Blues started off brightly enough, with the likes of Victor Moses linking well with a game Traore down the left wing. A very nice move resulted in Moses slipping in Loftus-Cheek, who beat two Fiorentina defenders on the byline before having his shot blocked. Moses was probably Chelsea’s best player on the night.
Asmir Begovic, meanwhile, played the full 90 minutes in goal and was quickly called into action, being forced into a diving stop to his right early on. The Bosnian may, however, be unfairly blamed for the visitors’ goal, which came in the 34th minute.
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Moments after Vecino almost broke the crossbar with a thunderous strike from 25 yards out, Fiorentina captain Gonzalo Rodriguez pounced on a loose ball following a Begovic save to give the Italians the lead. Chelsea’s goalkeeper had just produced a decent stop after a strong shot from little distance, but unfortunately the ball fell unkindly at the feet of Rodriguez, who made no mistake putting it in the back of the net.
This was reasonable reward after Fiorentina had warmed into the game, and they continued to dominate until the half.
Jose Mourinho made four substitutions at half-time with only Kurt Zouma keeping his place in the back four. Nemanja Matic also came on for Mikel. The boss continued to make changes throughout the half and by the end of the game, only Begovic, Moses and Zouma had played a full part.
The Blues tried to put together some more coherent periods of play following the break, but some poor headers from Branislav Ivanovic and Gary Cahill meant that the Stamford Bridge crowd of 41,435 were not treated to a Chelsea goal.
The game featured some cynical fouls on behalf of the Fiorentina defenders, but Zouma’s challenge on Ricardo Bagadur as time ran out was cringe-worthy. The Frenchman, seemingly oblivious to his own size, clattered into the midfielder in something that would be certainly worthy of a red card during the regular season. Bagadur was not injured.
Chelsea’s best chance of the second half came when Loic Remy was slotted in, only for him to cut in on his right foot and fire wide. Needless to say a healthy Diego Costa would have finished it on almost any occasion.
Chelsea have been shocking throughout pre-season, and with their Premier League season beginning at home to Swansea City on Saturday, there is just no telling how the Blues will fare. They look nowhere near ready. Furthermore, Swansea are a very good side who will be looking to get off to a good start in a campaign in which they will have their sights set on the Europa League.
Oh boy.
Chelsea FC Team:
Begovic;
Aina (Ivanovic 46mins), Zouma, Terry (C) (Cahill 46mins), Traore (Azpilicueta 46mins);
Loftus-Cheek (Willian 57mins), Mikel (Matic 46mins);
Cuadrado (Hazard 57mins), Oscar (Fabregas 57mins), Moses;
Falcao (Remy 57mins)
Next: Chelsea FC Transfer News: Deals Done For Youngsters