Scout Notes – Pre-Season Round Up

Jermain Defoe bags a brace as Sunderland chalk up their first win of the summer. Stoke hit Wrexham for six, with Jon Walters scoring twice. Eden Hazard is off the mark as Chelsea fall to defeat in their first pre-season friendly, Spurs triumph over Brentford in a behind-closed-doors showdown, whilst Villa’s fringe players are given the chance to impress.

New York Red Bulls 4 Chelsea 2

The Blues fell to defeat in their pre-season opener, despite goals from Loic Remy and Eden Hazard. Diego Costa went close on a number of occasions in the second period, while Victor Moses’ pace proved a threat throughout the encounter.

Jose Mourinho fielded his troops in a 4-2-3-1 set-up, with a back five comprised of Thibaut Courtois, Branislav Ivanovic, Gary Cahill, Kurt Zouma and Cesar Azpilicueta. Cesc Fabregas and John Obi Mikel sat in the double-pivot, while Bertrand Traore, Oscar and Moses formed the three behind lone striker Remy. The Portuguese boss made ten changes after the break, allowing the likes of Nemanja Matic, Asmir Begovic, Costa and Hazard to get minutes under their belts, but the raft of alterations saw the home side score four second-half goals.

Post-match, Mourinho played down the result and cited his players’ lack of fitness as the reason behind the unexpected loss:

“They gave us a good training session. If we came here and won 10-0 I would not be happy because it would mean it was too easy. We needed the game they gave us. Obviously we needed to play better than we did in the second half defensively, and there were also too many missed chances, but the intention of pre-season matches is to play, to run, to bring intensity back, so no problem. We only started training six days ago.”

Wrexham 0 Stoke City 6

The Potters cruised to victory upon their return to home soil, recording their third successive clean sheet. Jonathan Walters bagged a goal in both halves, while Mame Biram Diouf, Marco van Ginkel, Joselu and Dominic Telford also found the back of the net.

Mark Hughes rolled out his default 4-2-3-1 formation, with Walters, Diouf and Charlie Adam as the attacking midfield three, with on-loan Van Ginkel alongside Glenn Whelan in the double-pivot. Erik Pieters partnered Marc Wilson in central defence, having missed the Singapore tour with a groin complaint.

After the match, the Potters boss heaped praise on Van Ginkel’s display as the youngster (5.5 in FPL) looks to nail down a regular role in light of Steven N’Zonzi’s departure:

“He’s a very good player and we are very encouraged by what he’s shown. He gives us a goal threat and has got good energy. He covered good ground and wants to get into the box and on the end of things, so we are really pleased with that aspect of his play.”

Stoke were once again without captain Ryan Shawcross – the centre-back is still nursing a back injury but his manager remains optimistic he will return to action against Brentford on Saturday:

“We’re hoping he will get some game time this weekend. That’s the intention, we’re hopeful and we think he will be ready for some action. He’s been training all week but he’s just been having a little problem with his back, so he is a little bit behind the other guys. It’s a little bit of a reoccurrence of what he had last season, it’s settled down now so we’re quite comfortable with it and we fully expect him to play at the weekend.”

Toronto FC 1 Sunderland 2

Jermain Defoe did the damage against his former club, netting a second-half brace that sealed the Black Cats’ first victory on their tour of the USA.

Manager Dick Advocaat made four changes to the XI that started against Pachucha, handing Costel Pantilimon his first minutes since he succumbed to injury late in the previous campaign. Patrick van Aanholt and Billy Jones filled the full-back berths, while John O’Shea and Wes Brown partnered up in central defence. A four-man midfield of Sebastian Larsson, Jack Rodwell, Lee Cattermole and Adam Johnson operated behind strike duo Steven Fletcher and Defoe. Jones and Johnson made way for Adam Matthews and Emmanuele Giaccherini at the break as Advocaat made a total of five changes in the second period.

Discussing his display, Defoe (5.5 in FPL) reckons he’s starting to find his form with just over a fortnight remaining until the season gets underway:

“I feel like I needed the pre-season. Today was the sharpest I felt in a long time. It’s still a case of getting our fitness up. But at the same time, you want to be sharp, score goals and win the games. We’ve got a couple of weeks until the season starts and we’ve got two more pre-season games. By the time the season starts, hopefully we’ll be ready.”

Advocaat, meanwhile, confirmed that the Black Cats’ summer signings are still not up to scratch in terms of fitness, though is hopeful that’ll change over the next few days:

“Lens will definitely play against Doncaster (next Wednesday). He’s further along than the others. Coates has only done a week after playing for Uruguay (during the summer). It makes no sense to get injuries. But Kaboul could play as well against Doncaster. Next week we’ll know a little bit more about things.”

Forest Green Rovers 0 Aston Villa 3

What was intended to be an U21 encounter evolved into a useful expedition for a raft of Villa’s senior fringe players, with Nathan Baker, Aly Cissokho, Joe Cole, Kieran Richardson, Charles N’Zogbia and Libor Kozak earning run-outs at the New Lawn Stadium.

Jerrell Sellars was the star of the show, slotting home a penalty before claiming his second of the night with a deft chip over Forest Green keeper Paul White. Aleksandar Tonev supplied the Villains’ other goal, executing an easy finish from an N’Zogbia cross.

Tottenham Hotspur 2 Brentford 1

Spurs triumphed over the Championship outfit in a behind-closed-doors friendly, courtesy of a stoppage-time penalty from Dele Alli. Spurs’ opener also arrived from a spot-kick, with 21-year-old striker Shaq Coulthirst doing the honours in the first half.

Toby Alderweireld was afforded his first start for the club in a back four that also included Kevin Wimmer, Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose. Nacer Chadli, Christian Eriksen and Nabil Bentaleb were the senior starters in midfield, before the likes of Jan Vertonghen, Ben Davies, Kyle Walker, Federico Fazio, Tom Caroll and Mousa Dembele entered the fray in the second period. Harry Kane is yet to feature after returning from a prolonged holiday.