Two Chelsea players have had absolute nightmare pre-seasons now – opinion

Add as preferred source on Google

Mauricio Pochettino will be relatively pleased with how pre-season as a whole played out at Chelsea.

His side went unbeaten in all of their scheduled fixtures, something which has not occurred since all the way back in 2011.

The majority of these games took place against Premier League sides who finished above them in the league last season.

Wins against Brighton and Fulham combined with a hard-fought draw against Newcastle United saw them crowned Premier League Super Series champions.

He will have been particularly impressed with the individual displays of some of his players, some of which coming as a complete surprise.

Take for example Ian Maatsen. Many will have been under the impression that he was for sale this summer, but now he has given himself a great chance of starting next season.

Sterling and Madueke nightmare pre-seasons

It has not all been positives though. Some key players have simply not got enough out of this pre-season.

One of these is Raheem Sterling, who played five times during the tour of the United States to little success.

The team simply looked more effective and more fluid when the England international was not part of the starting XI, and that is a damning fact for a player who was no doubt hoping for a platform to bounce back with.

Then of course there is fellow winger Noni Madueke, who is fresh of winning the U21 Euros alongside Levi Colwill.

However, he has not made a single appearance during pre-season for the Blues, and recent transfer talk does not fill anyone with confidence that he is about to be key.

They have been linked with a move for Michael Olise from Crystal Palace, who tends to operate in a similar role to Madueke.