(Update: for part two of our Chelsea news and notes go here) Congratulations to Chelsea FC, on an unbeaten preseason. Yes, it’s only a collection of five friendlies, but hey, undefeated is still undefeated. And they “achieved” this “feat” with a score draw against Borussia Dortmund at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois.
A crowd of 48,183 or about 80% capacity, showed up to see it, and about full 60-70% of them were dressed in Chelsea colors.
The most electricity in the building came in the 89′ when Mason Burstow equalized for the Blues. The leaving it late, game-saving header equalized Marius Wolf’s 80′ goal for BVB.
When Burstow scored his header The Clash’s timeless classic “London Calling” began blaring on the stadium sound system. Directly behind the end where he scored dozens of blue flags began waving.
This electric sequence was the highlight of the night.
However, Soldier Field is a disaster class in commuter logistics. Everything about its location makes it extremely difficult to get to, and that was all made 100x worse by the fact that Lollapalooza is currently setting up less than a mile away.
The lakefront setting is beautiful, but there is only one roundabout way to get to all the parking garages, on both sides of the stadium, and it makes for a hellish commute.
But hey, once you’re inside, you can experience the golden hour with the Chicago skyline as your backdrop.
Everybody in the press box was Instagramming that image tonight. So about that undefeated preseason tour of the USA. Chelsea beat Wrexham in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and then won the Premier League Summer Series title, to the effect that any club can “win a title” in preseason.
They beat Fulham in D.C., Brighton in Philly and drew with Newcastle in Atlanta, as part of the Summer Series.
Pochettino has “won a preseason title” before, claiming the International Champions Cup a few years ago when he led Tottenham Hotspur.
“I am so happy in the way everything is going on,” Pochettino responded when asked to comment on how he thinks the preseason went.
“I am happy with the players, the staff, of course with the owners and the sporting directors, all the people that are around.
“They are working really hard to put in place what we want and helping the performance, because from starting against Wrexham and then playing against Fulham, we are going up.
“We need to keep this. We are working and so far I am so happy.
Of course, the start the week it is so clear to start to focus on Liverpool.
“That is the pre-season we found when we arrived and nothing to say wrong.
“It is only that we need to be clever how we adapt to provide the players the best tools to arrive in the best condition – physical, mental and tactical also.”
The season opener against Liverpool is ten days away.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager 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’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.