Pre Season: Chelsea lose again
Manchester City 4 - 2 Chelsea
Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick to lead Manchester City to a 4-2 pre-season victory over Chelsea in Columbus. Haaland, 24, scored two quick goals in the first five minutes, taking advantage of two mistakes by Chelsea.
The first goal came from a loose pass by Tosin Adarabioyo, with Levi Colwill fouling Haaland for a penalty, which the Norwegian scored after a re-take. Haaland then doubled City's lead, intercepting a misplaced pass and scoring.
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In the second half, City added two more goals, with Raheem Sterling's mistake allowing Oscar Bobb to score, followed by Haaland's hat-trick goal after another error from Malo Gusto. Despite Chelsea scoring twice, City secured the win.
Both managers blamed the "dry" pitch for the errors. City will now face Manchester United in the Community Shield, while Chelsea will play Real Madrid and Inter Milan in upcoming matches in the United States and at Stamford Bridge.
Where next for Chelsea and Maresca?
Enzo reacts to our defeat in Ohio.🎙️#BluesInTheUSA pic.twitter.com/ZjOgcvpNAR
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 4, 2024
It's obvious that former Leicester manager Maresca needs time to establish his tactical approach after only five weeks in charge at Chelsea, compared to Guardiola's eight years at the helm.
All four goals resulted from mistakes while playing out from the back. Although Maresca has acknowledged that errors are inevitable with his approach, he believes it will ultimately lead to progress. Chelsea did create some openings, with Christopher Nkunku and Enzo Fernandez both missing chances.
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City had 15 senior players out due to international commitments at Euro 2024 and the Copa America, which was 10 more than Chelsea.
There are legitimate questions about whether full-backs like Reece James and Malo Gusto, who started at left-back ahead of Ben Chilwell, can adapt to the latest Chelsea system, which sees several players playing out of their usual positions.