Chelsea wrapped up their summer friendlies with a draw at home to Inter Milan on Sunday afternoon, and there were plenty of interesting takeaways from the match.
Chelsea’s pre-season schedule is done following the 1-1 draw versus Inter Milan at Stamford Bridge. Next, the Blues kickstart their Premier League 2024/25 campaign in seven days time by hosting reigning champions Manchester City.
Marcus Thuram’s powerful first-half goal handed Inter the lead on their pre-season trip to England. However, substitute Lesley Ugochukwu powered in a last-minute equaliser.
Blues head coach Enzo Maresca should cerainly be encouraged by plenty of what he saw this weekend ahead of the league opener with Man City.
Chelsea must keep Marc Guiu in the squad
Marc Guiu probably wasn’t a name Chelsea fans were too familiar with before he joined them in the summer on a £5m deal (BBC) from Barcelona. However, he’s certainly going to be a popular topic with supporters after a great pre-season, which included a brilliant display on Sunday against Inter.
Maresca recently suggested Chelsea will keep Guiu for next season, as quoted by Football.London at the end of July.
However, respected journalist Matt Law claimed via The London Is Blue Podcast this week that Guiu will “probably” be allowed to go out on loan once more forwards arrive at the Bridge this summer. Atletico Madrid’s Samu Omorodion is strongly linked with an imminent move to West London.
But based on what Guiu has just shown in Chelsea colours, he shouldn’t be moving anywhere in the remaining weeks of the summer transfer window.
Marc Guiu shines against Inter Milan
Guiu looked like a man on a mission on Sunday as he got his first taste of playing in front of the Chelsea home fans.
He started the contest and lead the line superbly well during his 55 minutes on the pitch, which was the kind of excellent display that proves he’s ready for the senior squad straight away. It would be great to keep him around the building as cover and competition in the No 9 position.
The 18-year-old centre-forward will walk away wondering how he didn’t get on the scoresheet today, though.
Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer produced two superb saves during the first-half to deny Guiu’s instinctive efforts from inside the penalty box.
On top of that, Guiu’s phenomenal work rate stood out so clearly. He pressed aggressively and intelligently while on the pitch, and nearly got himself a goal when he closed down Sommer.
It’s quite obvious from watching Guiu with Chelsea this summer that he’s physically mature beyond his years, so it would be great to see him rewarded for his work with a sign of faith from the manager.
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