Time to cue up the Krusty the Klown “what the hell was that?!” GIF to describe how Chelsea performed at Notre Dame Stadium this past weekend. Especially so on defense, where they looked utterly disinterested. It won’t be hard to put in a better showing and display more ambition against Club America on Wednesday night because that effort was absolutely abysmal.
4-1 doesn’t truly tell the story, and the Blues should be thankful that Notre Dame Stadium was half-empty, because that was embarrassing for Blues supporters.
FC Series FYIs
Chelsea FC vs Club America
Kickoff: Wednesday July 31, 7:30pm EST, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA, USA
Chelsea Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Buy the book: Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America
Yes, it was only preseason, but c’mon man, you got to do better than that, and most importantly, you have to be more engaged and interested.
New manager Enzo Maresca has started with the same new formation in both of Chelsea’s preseason friendlies thus far. Does he switch it up here?
Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Malo Gusto and Renato Veiga have only featured as substitutes off the bench thus far.
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction vs Club America (FC Series)
Robert Sanchez; Wesely Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Ben Chilwell; Romeo Lavia, Reece James; Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku, Carney Chukwuemeka; Marc Guiu
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.