Chelsea wrapped up a short but sweet pre-season with a victory against AC Milan.
The Blues beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Friday night. On Sunday afternoon, they followed it up with a 4-1 win at home to Milan.
Leverkusen boss Erik ten Hag thinks Chelsea can win the Premier League after coming up against them.
Enzo Maresca’s side get underway with a league opener on 17 August against London rivals Crystal Palace. We’ve taken a look at three Chelsea stars who look ready to go in the curtain-raiser based off Sunday’s performance.
Chelsea players celebrate a goal against AC Milan in a pre-season friendly at Stamford Bridge.
Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images
Joao Pedro
Without a doubt, Joao Pedro, 23, feels like one of the first names on the team sheet ahead of the Palace fixture.
The Brazilian forward scored his fifth goal in his fifth Blues appearance against Milan, guiding in an excellent header. Even more impressively, his movement and general play looked razor sharp during an hour on the football pitch.
Minutes played Goals Accurate passes Touches Was fouled Ground duels won Fouls committed Match rating
60 1 14/15 (93%) 23 4 4/6 (67%) 2 7.9
Joao Pedro statistics during Chelsea vs AC Milan via FOTMOB
Even though Blues teammate Liam Delap came off the bench and scored two goals against Milan, it feels like Pedro is firmly in position for the starting role.
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Joe Cole hailed Joao Pedro by claiming that Chelsea may not realise just how good he actually is. Well, it’s quite obvious from the Club World Cup and pre-season that he’s a perfect fit, so we can’t wait to see him in the club’s opening fixture.
Cole Palmer
The encouraging news for fans is that Chelsea talisman Cole Palmer looked fit and extremely dangerous against Milan this weekend.
The 23-year-old attacking midfielder excelled during his hour on the pitch against the Italian giants. In fact, he may have been majorly disappointed that he saw two free-kicks just go wide.
He looked the part against Leverkusen a couple of days ago, and yet again, he produced some magical moments on the ball against Milan.
Rio Ferdinand claimed he would pay to watch Palmer. Based off pre-season, the English playmaker looks ready to hit the ground running in the Premier League, which should be worrying news for their upcoming opponents.
Cole Palmer dribbling for Chelsea against AC Milan in a pre-season friendly.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Reece James
Finally, Chelsea captain Reece James excelled against Milan in all aspects. He certainly looks up to full speed and ready for the league opener.
The 25-year-old defender impressed in his preferred right-back position, where we saw the best from him in both halves.
As an attacking threat, the Englishman has always possessed remarkable technique. In the second half, he whipped a dangerous cross into the penalty area that nobody could stretch to reach.
Also, James produced a stunning piece of defending when a Milan goal looked destined, recovering to block a shot after Robert Sanchez had been dribbled past.