Chelsea‘s pre-season took another step in the right direction on Friday night as they ramp up preparations for the upcoming Premier League campaign.
The Blues ran out comfortable 3-1 winners over Udinese thanks to goals from N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, and an account-opening strike from new signing Raheem Sterling.
It was Kante of all people who got the ball rolling for the west London club after carrying the ball unchecked from deep to fire a low sizzler into the bottom corner.
Sterling then scored his first of what fans will hope to be many goals in the famous Chelsea blue, turning beautifully into the space before eventually bundling the ball over the line.
An Edouard Mendy mistake left eh door ajar for the Italian, but the result never looked at risk, and, when Mount popped up at the back-post to slam home, the writing was on the wall.
Of course, only so much can be said about pre-season friendlies, but the result would have been encouraging for Thomas Tuchel and his staff.
The Sterling goal will be a point of particular satisfaction, with many hoping that the English star will hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge.
However, while Sterling is showing encouraging signs, the performance of fellow newbie Kalidou Koulibaly will really have the Chelsea faithful purring.
The titanic center-back showed why Chelsea was desperate to land his services as a replacement for Antonio Rudiger with an accomplished showing at the heart of the rearguard.
From the first whistle, the Senegalese man-mountain looked calm and assured, pulling off some crucial tackles while also showing immense value with the ball at his feet.
Check out the footage of his well-rounded display in the clip below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9owy5mbpfE
Brilliant. Chelsea may have landed one of the signings of the summer in Koulibaly.
Of course, we have to reiterate that it was pre-season friendly, and the new man can only be judged by a jury of his Premier League peers.
However, we can only go with what we have seen so far, and, so far, it all points towards Koulibaly being one of the best in the league.
