Inside Chelsea's pre-season tour as exciting start leaves three problems for Mauricio Pochettino
Chelsea's summer tour of the United States is officially over but the work of pre-season is not. The Blues will return to training on Friday having returned to the country on Thursday and will be straight back into action to ensure their preparation is perfect ahead of Liverpool.
They will be afforded some time off having been away from friends and family for the best part of 18 days before returning to intense training on Tuesday.
Pre-season has been relentless. There has been no shortage of travelling, games or training. Pochettino on the sideline and in the midst of drilling has pushed his players to do their utmost in endurance drills and tactical tests.
Even the Blues boss will have had a trying time. The 51-year-old coach has led sessions alongside his staff, no doubt shared in the intensity of training in his preparations and discussions for it, and faced the media nine times before and after matches over the course of the tour. He's only been in charge just over a month.
With an unbeaten run against Wrexham, Brighton, Newcastle, Fulham and Borussia Dortmund, for the most part, the tour can be painted as a success. The number of goals scored in the early stages in particular, almost incomprehendable to anyone who watched the west London side last term.
Nicolas Jackson, Levi Colwill, Nkunku and the winners and losers of Chelsea's pre-season tour
The first moments of the tour were hit by surprise and uncertainty. Ethan Ampadu was on a provisional list to fly out to North Carolina before completing a move to Leeds United, while some young members of the squad discovered their attendance on the day of departure.
While Chelsea's ambition this summer has been to trim their squad, 29 names set out on the journey abroad with
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