Real Madrid and Chelsea concluded their respective pre-season tours of the USA on Tuesday night, with Los Blancos running out 2-1 winners.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side, still without several key players such as Jude Bellingham and new signing Kylian Mbappe, managed to chalk up a win on the other side of the Atlantic before returning home, while the Blues were unable to improve on their record of just one victory, losing three times and drawing once on their Stateside adventure.
Strikes from Lucas Vazquez and Brahim Diaz saw Madrid race into a two-goal lead before Noni Madueke pulled one back for Chelsea before the end of the first half.
Here’s what we learned from their meeting in Charlotte.
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Chelsea conceded 12 goals in five games during their tour of the USA, with their only clean sheet coming in a 3-0 triumph against Club America.
A lot of those goals were self-inflicted, too. But the problem isn’t just wayward passing or a lack of numbers at the back, rather an absence of awareness and aggression.
It’s still only pre-season and the Blues are rebuilding under a new head coach (again) so it’s hard to definitively say if this is a major flaw for the campaign ahead, but the signs aren’t promising, particularly given Enzo Maresca recognising the problem and attributing it to the regimes of old.
“One of my first meetings with the squad was about the amount of goals we conceded last year with the defensive line very high,” he said.
“We are not working on defensive lines so high. It’s a habit from last year, or years ago, I don’t know.”
You don’t get too many top quality winger-versus-full-back battles nowadays, but God bless Vinicius Junior and Reece James for sticking true to old school footballing habits.
The Brazilian previously named James as one of his toughest opponents following their battles in the Champions League, and he has also commented on his Instagram posts out of respect for the England international.
It was a ‘friendly’ in name only between these two in Charlotte, with Vinicius getting his skates on and racing to the byline whenever possible, only for James to nullify and slow him down.
A fresh reminder of how great James can be when he’s not injured or suspended. Wonderful.
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