Chelsea: Three lessons learned against Lyon for final moves and lineups

Chelsea are hours away from the transfer deadline and days away from the Premier League opener. Here are three takeaways from the preseason finale for the crucial final moves.

Chelsea ended their preseason with both (for now) summer signings, Jorginho and Rob Green, on the pitch. Maurizio Sarri started a completely different XI than he did in the Community Shield on Sunday, and made 11 substitutions to finish the game with a partial best XI. Except for N’Golo Kante, the final World Cup players are not ready to play 90 minutes against Huddersfield this weekend. Here are three takeaways on how the loans and lines may come together.

1. Defence: Antonio Rudiger and Ethan Ampadu are the best pairing

Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz played together against Manchester City, and it was too much of the same thing. Both players are mobile, solid on the ball and aggressive in advancing the play in either direction. All those skills work to Chelsea’s detriment when no one is there to counter-balance them. As a result, Luiz and Rudiger lost the men they were marking, and were out of position and unready to guard the play coming in from the flanks.

Ethan Ampadu and Andreas Christensen started against Lyon, and once again Ampadu looked like the most experienced and stable centre-back the Blues have. Ampadu made block after block on shots coming in from the top of the box. He was aggressively physical in the tackle, perhaps too much for a friendly. He even followed in the footsteps of John Terry and Gary Cahill by sacrificing his head for a clearance (certainly too much for a friendly).

Ampadu has been the Blues top centre-back this preseason, and Rudiger has been right behind him. They make a perfect pairing because they complement each other almost perfectly. Ampadu is confident on the ball, but not daring. He would rather stay deep and send a single pass out than dribble up-field himself. He defends conservatively and physically, with a Christensen-like composure that belies his age.

Rudiger has the long-range passing, the buccaneering dribbling and the aerial presence in the offensive and defensive box necessary to give Chelsea complete control. Rudiger has the speed to come out and meet the rush, and to recover in time.

When Rudiger and Luiz play together, no one is back to mind the store. When Christensen, Ampadu or Gary Cahill play together, the defence is too one-dimensional (although this is far better than the alternative). One of either Rudiger or Luiz should always pair with one of Christensen, Ampadu or Cahill.

Andreas Christensen still looks a few steps shy of the ice-cold defender of the first half of last season. Towards the end of his outing on Tuesday he was wincing and looked like he was already cramping. Sarri needs to continue rebuilding him body and mind. Cahill, whose future under Sarri is unknown, is far too rusty for a Premier League start. He barely played in the World Cup, and only reported to training earlier this week.

Maurizio Sarri surely has the measure of David Luiz by now. Then again, Sarri named Willian the captain, so who knows. Ethan Ampadu and Antonio Rudiger have earned the starting job for Saturday, in addition to winning the process of elimination. They have the right individual characteristics to create the complete battery the Blues need. They may not hold onto the job for long, but at least at the outset, they should be there.