Tammy
Abraham scored his first goal of pre-season as Chelsea produced an
impressive showing to beat Barcelona 2-1 in Japan.
The Blues should have already been ahead by the time Abraham opened the
scoring 11 minutes before the break, but he had skied a sitter moments
earlier.
However, he made no mistake second time around when Jorginho robbed Sergio
Busquets and, from his pass, the forward rounded Marc-Andre ter Stegen and
slotted in.
An entirely rotated Barcelona side showed more after half time but rarely
forced Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga into a meaningful save, and
instead the Blues added a late second when Ross Barkley smacked the ball
inside Neto's near post with nine minutes remaining.
Barcelona did have something to smile about in added time when substitute
Ivan Rakitic received the ball 20 yards out, and after taking a single touch
fired in a powerful effort into the top corner beyond a helpless
Arrizabalaga.
How Chelsea saw off Barca
Chelsea narrowly avoided conceding a second-minute opener when Oriol
Busquets nodded over unmarked from a corner but once they got their
bearings, they controlled the first half against a strong Barca side -
albeit playing their first game of pre-season - as the Spaniards struggled
to deal with a high press and compact defence.
The Blues should have led when Emerson found Christian Pulisic inside the
box, and his shot was turned away straight into Abraham's path. The striker
had an open goal to aim at - but lifted his first-time effort over the bar.
Abraham made no mistake second time around when Chelsea's press worked to
perfection, as Jorginho caught Sergio Busquets in possession and played
Abraham through, and he calmly rounded Ter Stegen and fired in the opener.
The first half provided little attacking opportunity for Barca after that
early header, with debutant Antoine Griezmann frustrated by the Blues' stout
defence, but straight from the restart they began to probe more intensely,
and Malcom fired wide of the near post within two minutes, before Carles
Perez and Carles Alena both wasted good positions.
But late on Chelsea added a second of the game, when Barkley received the
ball from Marcos Alonso and rattled the ball inside Neto's near post, with
the goalkeeper unsighted by Jean-Clair Todibo.
There was finally something for Barcelona when Rakitic took aim when given
too much space 20 yards out a minute into injury time, and he duly beat
Arrizabalaga with a rising drive into the top corner.
Analysis: What did we learn from Chelsea?
It's only pre-season, but this was Frank Lampard's first big test as Chelsea
boss and after a few below-par performances, a dismal defeat could have
dampened a little bit of the optimism around the club.
But Chelsea instead embodied their new manager's tactical plan with a
high-pressing game which Barcelona struggled to deal with, and led to their
opening goal.
By involving full-backs Emerson and Cesar Azpilicueta they overloaded
Barcelona in attack and when the La Liga side did have the ball, Chelsea's
transition into a compact defensive unit was impressive and stifled their
opponents.
Christian Pulisic showed flashes of class on his first start and so too did
Abraham, although his all-round game still looks raw and he will want to
forget an embarrassing miss just before his goal.
Lampard will be pleased as punch with how his side performed against
top-class opposition, though, and while the real tests are still far off,
there was plenty to be encouraged about in Japan.
He said of Abraham after the game: "Tammy is a goalscorer and he's hungry
for goals. Now it's his time to prove it for Chelsea. To get his goal will
put him in good stead. There's competition."
How was Griezmann's debut?
The first 45 minutes we saw of Antonio Griezmann in a Barcelona shirt passed
relatively quietly. He was involved in some of their intricate link-up play
in attack, but against a Chelsea side including Andreas Christensen in
defence he found life tough.
Barca as a whole weren't at their slick best and drawing any major
conclusion from their first game of pre-season is tough, but the early
evidence is, as expected, the Frenchman will fit in with their fast-paced
technical style just fine.
What next for Chelsea?
Chelsea are back in action against Reading on Sunday at 3pm, before they
travel to Austria to visit Red Bull Salzburg next Wednesday. Their final
game before their season opener with Manchester United is away to Borussia
Monchengladbach on August 3.
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