Chelsea’s takeaways from the international break

The international break had a lot to take in for Chelsea.

The Blues had plenty of players on show all across the globe, with many taking the chance to get away from their domestic struggles and strut their stuff on the international stage.

Here are five takeaways for Chelsea from the March international break.

If you want a good summary of Kepa Arrizabalaga, look no further than his two outings for Spain this week.

Against Norway in the first game, Kepa was excellent. Spain may have won 3-0 but the gulf in quality was nowhere near as significant as that scoreline would suggest and the stopper played a huge role in ensuring the Scandinavian side did not force their way back into the game.

Just a few days later, and Kepa was back to his frustrating ways. Poor passing from the back and unconvincing shot-stopping offered a stark reminder of the gamble Chelsea take every time he is named in the team sheet. You never know which version of him you will get.

With Chelsea still looking for some consistent success from their forward line, Noni Madueke and Christian Pulisic both seized their chances to impress Graham Potter.

Beginning with Madueke, who has played just six minutes across Chelsea’s last four Premier League games, the January signing came off the bench for England Under-21s and terrorised a France side regularly hailed as one of the best in the youth scene. One goal and two assists in just 24 minutes tells a story in itself.

Pulisic also produced a heroic performance in the USA’s 7-1 win over Grenada, also contributing to three goals and sending a real message in the process.

After just three goals in his first 92 international appearances for Croatia, Mateo Kovacic nearly matched that tally as he scored twice in a 2-0 win over Turkey.

The goals come at a time in which Kovacic’s club future is up in the air. With just over 12 months remaining on his contract and no concrete progress over an extension, Chelsea have a serious decision to make as a number of their domestic rivals begin to circle.

Man Utd, Man City and Liverpool have all made it clear that they would be interested in signing the two-goal hero, and they may get their chance this summer unless something significant changes.

There will be plenty of nervous faces…