Chelsea ran out 4-3 winners in an entertaining clash against Premier League rivals Brighton over in the USA overnight.
Chelsea had put League 2 Wrexham to the sword earlier this week, but fell behind in the 12th minute to a Danny Welbeck strike in the first game of the Premier League summer series.
Summer signing Christopher Nkunku levelled the scores six minutes later, before second-half strikes from Myhailo Mudryk, Conor Gallagher and Nicolas Jackson put the Blues in control.
Joao Pedro and Denis Undav pulled goals back for the Seagulls – who had seen Jan Paul van Hecke dismissed for two quickfire bookable offences – though Chelsea ultimately claimed the victory in Philadelphia.
Speaking after the game, Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino was pleased with what he saw from his new side, and said he is ‘starting to see certain principles’ in their performance.
“We are happy for the fans; they enjoy a good game,” Pochettino said in his post-match press conference.
“Of course, a coach is never happy when you concede goals, but it’s normal because it is only two-and-a-half weeks to work and evolve the different areas of the team.
“I am happy, I saw many positive things. I am so happy with the attitude of the players and the staff. We showed great attitude and energy against a team that did a fantastic job last season.
“I am so happy with the balance in these two-and-a-half weeks. We know we have to work a lot and continue to improve. But we’re starting to see certain principles that will be very, very important for us.”
Mykhailo Mudryk has had a difficult adaptation to life in the Premier League since his transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk in January, though scored a well-taken goal following some neat interplay with Raheem Sterling.
Pochettino said that it is good for the ‘confidence’ of his players to get back into the goalscoring groove after a season of struggle in front of goal last season.
“For Jackson and Mudryk, it’s important to score. Nkunku also. Attacking players need to score to get their confidence and trust themselves. It is important to score goals and then we try to improve.
“Today, we maybe had more capacity to stay calm and create more chances and score more goals. These areas we have to work, we’re going to focus our work. It takes time to believe and trust in the process to arrive in the best condition.”
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