Chelsea began the Xabi Alonso era with an entertaining 6-4 win over Western Sydney Wanderers in a remarkable pre-season friendly in Sydney on Tuesday, July 2.
Joao Pedro became the star of the match. The Brazilian came off the bench and scored a nine-minute hat-trick.
Chelsea had to fight back after falling behind three times.
Joao Pedro inspires Chelsea comeback
Chelsea made a fast start when 17-year-old Dastan Satpayev opened the scoring in the sixth minute.
Western Sydney responded through Anthony Pantazopoulos. Aydan Hammond then put the A-League side ahead.
Dario Essugo restored Chelsea’s momentum before half-time by making it 2-2.
The hosts regained the lead after the break. Dylan Scicluna scored to make it 3-2.
Alonso then made several changes. The Chelsea boss introduced more first-team players as the game entered its final stages.
Jamie Gittens made an immediate impact. He scored just two minutes after coming on to level the match at 3-3.
Western Sydney refused to give up. Awan Lual restored their lead for the third time.
Joao Pedro then changed the game.
The Brazilian quickly made it 4-4. He later finished a Cole Palmer assist to put Chelsea ahead.
A close-range finish completed his hat-trick late in the match. Chelsea eventually secured a dramatic 6-4 victory.
The result gave Alonso a winning start. More importantly, the match provided plenty of useful lessons before the new campaign.
Alonso pleased with valuable test
Despite the victory, Alonso admitted there were plenty of lessons for his new side to take from the chaotic encounter.
“It has been a very useful friendly that we can learn a lot from today. There were moments when we were struggling to find solutions, and we needed this.
“The positive is that we corrected them, but there were moments when the game management is something that we can learn from today.
“When they were pressing so high, it was tough to find the solution from inside, to have a different understanding of what’s happening, and to make those changes in the game.
“It’s something that will happen often in all the games, and the more situations we struggle with and find solutions, the better team we will be.
“For that, I think that this friendly is going to be useful for the future, and as well for minutes for everyone.”
Chelsea’s remaining pre-season fixtures
Chelsea will continue their pre-season tour with five more fixtures before the start of the new campaign.
August 1: Tottenham (Sydney, 10.45am BST)
August 5: Juventus (Hong Kong, 12.30pm BST)
August 8: AC Milan (Jakarta, 1pm BST)
August 9: Johor Darul Ta’zim (Johor, 1pm BST)
August 15: Real Sociedad (Stamford Bridge, 2pm BST)
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