Erling Haaland had an exceptional night at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, netting a hat-trick that secured a 4-2 victory for Manchester City over Chelsea.
This outcome confirms that Pep Guardiola’s team departs the United States with a win, having previously lost all three matches on their pre-season tour against Celtic, AC Milan, and Barcelona.
Haaland kicked off the scoring for City with a penalty just three minutes into the match, quickly followed by another goal two minutes later. Oscar Bobb extended the lead to 3-0 in the 55th minute before Haaland scored again.
Despite Chelsea managing to respond with goals from Raheem Sterling and Noni Madueke, the underwhelming performance will likely raise concerns for Enzo Maresca.
Below, Mail Sport’s Kieran Gill highlights five key takeaways from Chelsea’s loss to Manchester City.
Alarm bells will be ringing for Enzo Maresca (pictured) after Chelsea were beaten by Man City
Erling Haaland (pictured) scored a hat-trick of goals to help the Premier League champions win 4-2
Oscar Bobb (pictured) also scored in the second-half for Man City, firing in at the near post from a tight angle with a lovely strike
Concerns for Maresca
A significant worry for Chelsea was that their starting lineup appeared much stronger than Manchester City’s. With the exception of Cole Palmer and Marc Cucurella, it was essentially their first team.
However, Maresca’s team fell victim to their own mistakes yet again. Following previous errors against Wrexham and Celtic during the pre-season, they found themselves trailing 2-0 within five minutes due to consecutive blunders.
Initially, Tosin Adarabioyo inadvertently directed the ball towards Jack Grealish, allowing Erling Haaland to win and score a penalty. Subsequently, Moises Caicedo made a critical error by giving the ball away to Haaland, leading to their second goal. This pattern regrettably continued into the second half, resulting in two more goals for City.
Although this is merely pre-season, Maresca must be concerned with Chelsea set to face City in their Premier League opener in two weeks. One hopes these mistakes are now behind them.
McAtee in fine form
James McAtee showcased his talent at times, such as when he outmaneuvered Mykhailo Mudryk to create a chance in the first half. Chelsea has been monitoring the 21-year-old, who previously spent time on loan at Sheffield United.
A promising player, Pep Guardiola sought to use this pre-season to evaluate McAtee closely before making decisions about his immediate prospects.
Chelsea have also shown interest in Oscar Bobb, who certainly bolstered his appeal by scoring City’s third goal in this match.
James McAtee (pictured) looked in his element at times such as when he skinned Mykhailo Mudryk to create one chance in the first half
‘Trev deserved better’
There was a Chelsea supporter displaying a homemade banner that read: ‘Trev deserved better.’ This references Trevoh Chalobah, who was left at home while the club works on transferring the homegrown center-back.
Chelsea opted to sign Adarabioyo this summer due to his free-agent status. However, the 26-year-old has demonstrated he can be prone to mistakes.
Alongside his error leading to City’s opener, he later appeared overly casual when trying to recover a loose ball, allowing McAtee to sneak in and challenge Robert Sanchez.
Chelsea could not resist signing Tosin Adarabioyo (pictured) in the summer but he does have a mistake in him
RB Leipzig reunion
Christopher Nkunku and Josko Gvardiol, who previously played together at RB Leipzig, enjoyed chatting during their training sessions at Lower.com Field on Friday. However, at Ohio Stadium, they faced off against each other, and for the first time this pre-season, Nkunku did not score.
There was a moment when he outpaced Gvardiol to collect a precise pass from Enzo Fernandez, but City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega ensured he didn’t slip the ball past him.
Nkunku may not be fully fit yet, but he is focused on returning to top form as he aims for a successful season with Chelsea following a year marred by injuries.
Josko Gvardiol (left) and Christopher Nkunku (right) both played together for RB Leipzig and they were having a good catch-up
One positive for Chelsea is how impressive Romeo Lavia (pictured) has been in pre-season
Lavia shines on a tough day
A bright spot for Chelsea has been the impressive performance of Romeo Lavia during this pre-season, where he has played a crucial role in their attacking play.
It will be intriguing to see how significant his contributions will be in the upcoming season, particularly as he provided a brilliant assist for Noni Madueke to round off the 4-2 scoreline. Following this match, Chelsea headed to Atlanta to utilize the training facilities before preparing for their clash against Real Madrid in Charlotte on Tuesday.
Despite appearing to have an unconventional schedule for their U.S. tour, there’s a strategic purpose behind it. Firstly, the caliber of opponents has progressively increased (Wrexham, Celtic, Club America, City, Real). Secondly, the tour was organized in a manner to minimize differences in time zones, reducing jet lag as they prepare to return to London.
