Two days after a cruising victory over Leverkusen, the blues follow up a five star performance against AC Milan to end pre season with two wins out of two.
The perfect way to prepare for our first league game against Palace, where the real test will come.
Sanchez: 8
Following his incredible CWC journey, Sanchez has shown no sign of dropping off his standards, with a phenomenal performance.
James: 9.5 (MOTM)
For the second time in a few years, he has managed to pocket Leao. Nothing was getting past him, sensational defending and supporting attacks when needed.
Chalobah: 8
A proper leaders performance at the back again for Chalobah. Very organised down that left centre back. Commanded the backline and was comfortable defending and receiving the ball in wide areas. Gutted Trev had to come off due to injury, lets hope its nothing serious.
Tosin: 8.5
Composed and cool performance. Maintained his aerial duels and ground duels well and the Colwill injury might make Tosin more favourable and crucial to maintaining clean sheets.
Cucurella: 8
An extremely solid performance from our starting LB. He still remains sharp as ever and aggressive in his tackling even though its a friendly. Keep saying, his revelation has been insane and hes arguable the number 1 left back in the world.
Enzo: 7.5
Very strong with his passing across the pitch (long and short) , and supporting attacks when needed, been influential with the tempo of the game and goes under the radar away from g/a.
Caciedo: 9
No one can get past Caicedo! Wow… i mean the 100 plus million price tag seems a very cheap buy. His tackling and interceptions are world class.
Palmer: 7.5
Extremely instrumental in our attacking build up and very unlucky to not score the free kick attempt. Vital we keep on playing Palmer so theres no rustiness when the season starts.
Gittens: 6.5
Some very lightening moments of pace , especially in the first half alongside his venomous tricks and flicks. Finishing needs to be a bit more polished but if he rectifies this, it will be scary to see the potential.
Pedro: 8.5
Pedro scores again! I mean wow… talk about an impact signing. His physical presence is certainly underrated and what a bullet header to make it 1-0. Pedro’s hold up and link up play is key to our attack clicking.
Neto: 9
Very good bits of play down the right and seems very confident on the ball, especially taking on his opposing full back. The cross for Pedro was sublime and we all know Neto has been robbed off a catalogue of assists
Subs:
Delap: 8
At last our number 9 is off the mark! A confident penalty and an instinctive finish towards the end of the game will certainly help his confidence and keep on providing selection headaches for Maresca.
Santos: 7
A solid quick intricate pass into Delap stood out for Santos. There may be a point in the season where Santos may be in contention to fight with Enzo in that midfield position next to Caicedo.
Hato: 6
Some good bits of play down his side and seems very confident on the ball. Very early days, but hope to see more of him further on in the season
Gusto:
Good 1 v 1 defending on his side and aggressive in his tackling has shown us flashes of 2023 Gusto.
George: 5
Perhaps a loan move may seem the best option for him to keep on gaining minutes. Staying here wouldn’t be the best option for him as his development wont progress well. He’s struggling to beat his full back 1 v 1 and find any striking ability of the ball.
Achaempong: 7.5
This is going to be a big season for Josh, and he has defended extremely when coming on this game. Particularly his break up play and his driving with the ball from defence to midfield.
Estevao: 7
He’s still got magic in his boots from Friday night. A defenders nightmare with his pace and trickery down the wing.
Walsh:
Great to see Walsh get some game time, a few good passes and touches will do the world of confidence good for him.
Enzo Maresca: 9
Another great victory managed! Game was realistically done in 10 minutes. The subs perhaps could’ve been made earlier but other than that Maresca’s got the tools to take us into this Premier League season. Tactically overloaded Milans left side which ultimately was the key to us winning.