After opening the pre-season with three games in Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia), Chelsea travelled to the U.S. to face their continental rivals in a Guinness Champions Cup tournament.
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Next up was Malaysia. 4-1 was the final score with goals from Traore, De Bruyne, Lukaku, and Moses. Traore opened the scoreboard with a clinical finish while De Bruyne scored a stunning volley, injuring his knee in the process. Lukaku and Victor Moses impressed again with their contributions. Malaysia managed to score a consolation goal, however, through Shas' header. Poor defending by Tomas Kalas...
Finally, Chelsea celebrated their debut in Indonesia with an astounding 8-1 win over the BNI All-Stars. Indonesia should have done better... Oh well, it's good practice for them. Still proud of my compatriots! Eden Hazard opens the scoring with a cheeky penalty shot that sends keeper Kurnia Mega the wrong way. Ramires scores the second goal with a splendid turn-and-shoot. He almost made a quick brace if Meiga had not deflected the shot. Demba Ba was there to recover and convert the play to make it 3-0. As if that wasn't entertaining enough, captain John Terry chipped in with a brilliant header from a heading assist by fellow defender Gary Cahill. Fortunately for the viewers, the excitement is just getting started! Youngster Bertrand Traore scored a screamer from outside the box after the half time whistle. 5-0 in 50 minutes! Lukaku heads in a cross from Hazard while Ramires increased his goal tally with a shot from several yards out. Lukaku closed the Chelsea scoring account with another goal to make it 8 for the club. Brilliant piece of attacking play. Towards the end, Chelsea's defense blundered again as Tomas Kalas deflected Greg Nwokolo's shot to his own net. Poor performance by the young Czech defender... Another loan spell, perhaps?
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That's three wins in their first three pre-season games! Off to America with the Confed Cup squad joining (Luiz, Mata, Torres, Oscar, Mikel).
First game against Jose Mourinho's former club Inter Milan ended in a comfortable 2-0 victory. Oscar scored a stunning screamer after only a few moments returning from holiday. He was MADE to score beautiful goals! Remember this? Victor Moses won a penalty that Hazard converted.
AC Milan proved to be a more difficult opponent with their high pressure play. De Bruyne returned from his injury and scored the first goal against the Italian giants. Andre Schuerrle made his debut goal with a world-class volley. That's two games with the Milan neighbors ending in a 2-0 victory.
Our first loss came from Real Madrid. The game ended 3-1 with Ronaldo scoring two classic goals and Marcelo finishing one. Ramires humiliated Casillas with his trademark chip that he executed against Barcelona's Victor Valdes. Disappointing result but it was good warm-up for the season.
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After seeing the performance of the squad, I believe the club is ready to challenge for the title. The team looks more solid than before and Jose Mourinho's presence is causing an intimidating atmosphere among the rival teams. Personally, I don't think we need an additional squad member. However, I wouldn't mind these 'Rooney to Chelsea' rumors. We're ready, English Premier!
