Chelsea 1-1 Charlotte FC (3-5 pens): 5 talking points as Raheem Sterling makes his Blues bow.
Christian Pulisic reminded Thomas Tuchel of his talent as Raheem Sterling played his debut game for the Blues, and Chelsea were defeated by Charlotte FC on penalties.
Despite scoring his first Chelsea goal, Raheem Sterling’s team was defeated by Charlotte FC 5-3 in the shootout.
At halftime, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel made 10 changes, including the addition of England winger Raheem Sterling from Manchester City for £47.5 million. Sterling had a quiet game and late on, replacement goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega stopped his best opportunity at the near post.
In his native country, Christian Pulisic gave Chelsea the lead in the first half with a superb close-range shot that lobbed goalkeeper Krisija Kahlina. Minutes from time, after Trevoh Chalobah, a rookie defender, touched the ball, Charlotte’s Daniel Rios scored from the penalty spot to tie the score.
In the ensuing penalty shootout, Sterling, Mason Mount, and Ben Chilwell all scored goals. However, Conor Gallagher’s attempted panenka was unsuccessful as he tried out for a spot in Tuchel’s first-team Chelsea plans for this season.
The 24-year-old Kamil Joswiak, a former Derby winger, scored the game-winning goal to excite the home fans at Bank of America Stadium.
Raheem Sterling had a subdued debut for Chelsea, with few touches and even fewer clear-cut chances against a determined Charlotte. Midway through the second half, he had two of his stronger performances (he came on as part of ten changes at the break).
Sterling pushed down the left for the opening goal, but his cross into the box lacked precision. He and Kenedy exchanged passes for the next second, but his attempt was blocked.
third time. He was released down the right after cooperation from Gallagher and Havertz. Kenedy sprinted into the box unnoticed, but Sterling naively attempted to wedge the ball between Pablo Sisniega’s near post and the goalkeeper. Sisniega responded with his feet in an excellent way to keep it out.
An uncertain beginning included a risky challenge on defender Jan Sobocinski that resulted in a booking early in the first half. But a fantastic finish in front of a cheering audience, the most of them were wearing jerseys with his name on them. Playing in a three behind striker Bayshuayi, Pulisic was brilliant, forcing defenders to make mistakes and slipping passes to Alonso and Ziyech, who both failed to take advantage of their opportunities.
One of those who will be most impacted by Sterling’s presence appears to be Pulisic. He declined to talk about his future before the game, but if he stayed, he may still be useful.
The excitement around the young defender Levi Colwill is justified based on his brief appearance here. The 19-year-old made a few tentative initial touches but soon became comfortable in his role as the Chelsea team’s new goalkeeper Mendy at the start of the second half.
He finished off a strong performance with a wonderful recovery tackle to prevent attacker Daniel Rios from tying the score late in the second half. He was composed in possession and effective with his delivery.
Colwill’s team claims that if Chelsea adds additional defenders, he will try to go out on loan. He will be a true jewel for anyone the Premier League acquires.
First choice goalkeeper Edouard Mendy was back as the final line of defense, which is where we’ve grown to feel most at ease in a Chelsea jersey, after missing last Saturday’s victory against Club America. He didn’t take long to demonstrate why to us.
Karol Swiderski, a striker, made an early, excellent stop. The striker for Poland had bent low to head in a cross at the back post but discovered Mendy had grown large to scare him away from it.
Yes, he had no chance against Jordy Reina’s deflected shot that hit the angle of the post and bar in the 22nd minute. Five minutes before halftime, Swiderski panicked and hurried his shot, which he missed wide, leaving Mendy vulnerable as well.
With 25 minutes remaining, he made a fantastic save against Andre Shinjashiki, and as a result, no Chelsea supporter will be concerned about their goaltending position in the upcoming campaign.
There was only Michy Batshuayi in the storefront. He is obviously not the front man for this Chelsea squad. He’s not even the second or third one. When you were watching this, you may have yearned for anything to ease the agony of watching football. As Hakim Ziyech played him in after only ten minutes, unable to read the ball or see the chance, he was on another world.
He beat the offside trap from the halfway line ten minutes before the interval, but he then let the defenders come up to him. Although goalkeeper Kristian Kahlina made a great stop, he should never have been given the opportunity to cut inside. Batshuayi fully understands that this is his final loan; the location is all that has to be determined.
