Chelsea: Don’t read into scoreline too much, other takeaways from friendly

Chelsea played its first friendly in preparation for the Premier League return, but don’t read too much into the scoreline.

Chelsea played its first match against another side in months as the Blues took on Reading in a closed-door friendly. The Blues defeated Reading by a score of 1-0, with Pedro netting the lone goal in the first half.

While the scoreline from Cobham may look concerning upon first glance—as many hold Chelsea to a higher standard than beating a Championship side by one goal—it’s not as concerning as one would think. In fact, there are many positive things to takeaway from the Blues’ first friendly just 11 days before they return to Premier League action.

The most notable headline from Chelsea’s match against Reading is the presence of N’Golo Kante. After Kante returned to team training this week, supporters began to wonder whether or not he’d commit to playing. There has been no verbal confirmation of Kante’s status moving forward, but seeing him on the pitch at Cobham against an opposing side is a positive sign. Getting Kante back for the remainder of the season would be a huge boost for the Blues in their race for a Champions League place.

Also in the midfield, Ruben Loftus-Cheek played in a first team competitive match for the first time in over a year. Loftus-Cheek has benefitted greatly from the domestic stoppage as it allowed him to get back into shape following a gruesome injury. He’s back to match fitness and thanks to Wednesday’s friendly, he has gotten some more time on the pitch before the restart.

Fans shouldn’t be concerned about the scoreline against Reading because the friendly served its purpose—to get players back on the pitch. The Blues spent much of the game rotating and fielding different XI’s in order to get players back in the swing of things. It’s important to keep in mind the friendly against Reading was exactly that, a friendly. The time to obsess over a scoreline begins June 21 and even if Chelsea only defeats Aston Villa 1-0, three points is three points. At the end of the day, the first team got a competitive refresher.

Other positive takeaways from the match include the Blues keeping a clean sheet. Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has come under fire this season for a string of poor performances, but the keeper kept Reading’s shots out of the net today. Further, amongst the talk of Pedro not extending his deal for the rest of the season, he’s 20 days out and still playing matches for the Blues. Nobody truly knows what’ll happen between now and then, but it’s hard to see the winger not extending if he’s playing an important part in the club’s return to match form.

The Premier League return date is inching closer and it seems as if everything is falling into place for Chelsea. Sure, a 1-0 win over Reading isn’t the most reassuring scoreline supporters have seen all season but, it served its purpose. For that, fans should be grateful.