Goals from Thiago Silva and Christopher Nkunku were enough for Chelsea to see off Fulham and claim the Premier League Summer Series trophy in the USA.
The Blues won two of their three games in the pre-season tournament to earn the trophy.
After a rather timid, very pre-season, opening 20 minutes, Chelsea broke the deadlock through veteran Thiago Silva. The defender rose highest at the near post from a corner kick to cannon a header past Bernd Leno and into the back of the net.
The Blues looked the much more likely to nab the second goal of the game thereafter, with Ben Chilwell forcing the Fulham goalkeeper into a smart save with a venomous strike from the left of the box.
In the 35th minute, Enzo Fernandez would miss a gilt-edged chance to make it 2-0. Following a sweeping counter attack led by Raheem Sterling, Christopher Nkunku received the ball and teed up Fernandez perfectly for a first-time strike on goal. His subsequent effort, however, was tame and straight at Leno.
Chelsea would finally get their well deserved second five minutes later through Christopher Nkunku. The forward reacted quickest to tap home the ball after Carney Chukwuemeka forced Leno into a smart save.
The half-time changes largely scuppered the momentum the Blues had built in the first half, however new signing Nicolas Jackson did cause a few problems with his dynamic running in behind.
It would actually be Fulham who’d create the only notable chance in the second half (in the 75th minute, which tells you all you need to know about the second half). The chance would fall to Bobby Decordova-Reid, who saw a well-time volleyed effort be well saved Lucas Bergstrom.
GK – Gabriel Solina – 5/10 – A quiet outing.
RB – Malo Gusto – 6/10 – Got forward well at time. A good deputy to Reece James.
CB – Thiago Silva – 7/10 – Thumping header to give his side the lead.
CB – Bashir Humpherys – 6/10 – An easy enough game for the youngster alongside the veteran Thiago Silva.
LB – Ben Chilwell – 7/10 – Bagged an assist for the opening goal of the game
CM – Andrey Santos – 6/10 – Kept things ticking over from deep in midfield.
CM – Enzo Fernandez – 5/10 – Got forward well at times but missed a glorious chance too. He needs to find his feet in front of goal.
RM – Raheem Sterling – 6/10 – Seems to be developing an understanding with Nkunku. A good performance from the ex-Man City man.
AM – Carney Chukwuemeka – 6/10 – His quick feet led to the second goal.
LM – Christopher Nkunku – 8/10 – Linked play very well and showed poachers instincts to bag his third goal of the pre-season tour.
ST – Mason Burstow – 5/10 – Worked hard.
Substitutes
Levi Colwill – 5/10 – Fulham didn’t offer much offensively.
Reece James – 6/10 – Got forward as well as he always does.
Marc Cucurella – 6/10 – A few nice balls over the top when introduced.
Conor Gallagher – 6/10 – A willing runner in the middle of the park.
Cesare Casadei – 5/10 – He didn’t really get his foot on the ball too often.
Nicolas Jackson – 7/10 – Caused problems with his runs in behind the Fulham defence. Full of confidence.
Ian Maatsen – 6/10 – A decent showing.
Trevoh Chalobah – N/A – Came off injured after 15 minutes of the second half.
Angelo Gabriel – 5/10 – A few loose touches in the final third.
Lewis Hall – 7/10 – Showed quick feet and composure. He looks a serious player.
Alfie Gilchrist – 5/10 – Tidy on the ball.
Lucas Bergstrom – 6/10 – Made a decent save to keep Chelsea’s clean sheet.
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