Chelsea lost a preseason friendly at FC Charlotte last night, 5-3 on penalties. (Coupled with Minnesota United thrashing Everton 4-0, it was the rare MLS over Premier League double on the same night…even if these results are meaningless)
The score in Charlotte was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, with Christian Pulisic having gotten the lone goal for Chelsea, which was his first with the Blues in his native land. Here’s the video footage of it below:
More importantly, in all things Pulisic related, you must see the video of him totally missing the sitter when a reporter asked him about the gun control laws in his home country. Much worse than that, was the behavior of the Chelsea press officer. You can see that over at this link.
Elsewhere, preseason friendlies in the US are all about “game recognizes game” when pro athletes from clubs across the pond meet each other and sometimes collaborate. Often we see a shirt swap. Last night, Carolina Panthers WR DJ Moore took in the soccer match that was being staged in his home stadium.
He was joined by Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield. Have a look:
Baker Mayfield and DJ Moore taking a quick lap ahead of Charlotte FC/Chelsea pic.twitter.com/cyDCKSCz9W
— Bill Voth (@PanthersBill) July 21, 2022
Charlotte FC was formed, in large part, thanks to businessman Tom Glick, who has officially become Chelsea’s new President of Business. His previous job was with the Carolina Panthers, so it’s all the circle of life, see!. More on this appointment here.
Finally, did you see Chelsea midfielder Jorginho taking batting practice with the L.A. Dodgers (the MLB franchise owned by new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly…see everyone’s connected like a switchboard here)?
He’s pretty good, huh? Chelsea were training out in Los Angeles at the start of their American adventure, before later staging the exhibition matches in the USA
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.