Raheem Sterling made his debut when the King’s Road men failed to beat Queen City, with Chelsea falling in a penalty shootout defeat to a lively Charlotte FC in the second leg of their three-match US tour.
The arrival of £ 47.5million from Manchester City marked his point shot, but a foul by Conor Gallagher, who threw his penalty in the middle only because immobile Pablo Sisniega made the decisive stop, went seeing that the MLS team prevailed to get the biggest win of their match. brief history.
The American Christian Pulisic gave the tourists an advantage in the first half with a chip of local grass, but a last minute penalty motivated the punctual shots, with the local team winning 5-3 in front of a delirious 52,673 spectators.
Raheem Sterling made his first appearance for Chelsea following his move to Manchester City
Sterling calmly converted his point shot during the penalty shootout for Chelsea
Coach Thomas Tuchel was pleased with what he saw of Sterling, who came on in the half, but gave few blows to assess what was a disappointing night in North Carolina.
“I haven’t seen him today,” he said when asked if the three strikers after Sterling’s interval, Kai Havertz and Mason Mount would be what he would lead to in the Premier League season.
“So it doesn’t matter what I have in my head. It all matters what we see on the field. And I saw four accelerations in the second half, and they all came from Raheem. That’s what he offers.
Despite the amount of possession, Chelsea made a waste of what some might see as a spectacular loss that was observed by new co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.
“If we keep fighting not to feel these things and not to end these things, it won’t be the first time we will be punished,” said a clearly unimpressed Tuchel.
The England international was presented as a replacement for the second half of his new club
CHELSEA ALIGNMENTS
CHELSEA FIRST MIDDLE: Mendy; James, Thiago Silva, Emerson; Hudson-Odoi, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso; Ziyech, Batshuayi, Pulisic
SECOND HALF: Mendy; Chalobah, Colwill, Sarr; Kenedy, Ampadu, Gallagher, Chilwell; Sterling, Havertz, Mount
‘Because that’s what happens if you keep opponents alive, if you keep the belief alive, if you keep the stadium alive. Anything can happen in football. That’s why we love the game. That depends on us.
Sterling, 27, looked a little rusty, but showed flashes of the explosive pace that will lead to Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel, however, will be worried about a defender who resigned several times before a hand from Trevoh Chalobah – after Ethan Ampadu had given the ball away – gave Mexican Daniel Rios a chance to tie the well-deserved draw in one more match. delayed. more than an hour thanks to storms in the Charlotte area.
Mount and Ben Chilwell (with the help of a stick) hid their penalties before Gallagher’s chance attempt was thwarted by Sisniega, Charlotte’s third goalkeeper of the night, who stood still.
Charlotte confidently scored his first four penalties, which meant Sterling had to convert his own, which he did, the Englishman made his effort on the left corner, despite Sisniega’s crossings in the your line.
Christian Pulisic had given the score to Chelsea during the first half for Thomas Tuchel’s side
Conor Gallagher’s terrible penalty during the round cost his team a pre-season victory
That meant he was left at the old end of Derby County Kamil Joswiak, who sent Mendy the wrong way to delight a shrill crowd as fireworks exploded.
While it was only a preseason friendly, Tuchel, who claimed the hosts played with “more courage,” could have been forgiven for firing his own volley into the locker room.
He also reacted with surprise when he was informed that Tino Werner had said in a previous interview that he could be “happy anywhere”, claiming that he would be “the happiest person on the planet with a contract with Chelsea”.
Michy Batshuayi made a rare appearance at Chelsea after starting in North Carolina
The match was delayed by an hour due to heavy storms during match preparation
He added that in order to clarify his place in the starting eleven Werner must “show quality and occupy your place and defend your place”.
Tuchel, however, put things in context. “There is no need for big doubts and big criticisms,” he said. “It’s never important what a coach has in mind before the preseason. Whatever it is. It’s the reality that counts, and every day in training and games like these count. From here we go.”
Chelsea return to their training camp in Orlando, a city where they face old rivals Arsenal in the final game of their tour on Saturday night.