Friendlies Round-Up – Sunday

Andre Schurrle and Kevin De Bruyne grab a goal apiece upon their return to action as Chelsea ease past Milan. Theo Walcott nets another for Arsenal, Stoke register their third straight win under Mark Hughes, Christian Benteke takes his pre-season tally to five in three games, while Andy Carroll remains optimistic of making West Ham’s opening day home clash against Cardiff.

Chelsea 2 Milan 0
Jose Mourinho retained a 4-2-3-1 formation against the Italian side in the early hours of this morning. In defence, Cesar Azpilicueta and Ryan Bertrand got the nod at full-back, with the Spaniard’s selection seeing Branislav Ivanovic move to centre-half alongside Gary Cahill. Marco Van Ginkel was again selected in the double-pivot, while Kevin De Bruyne recovered from a recent knee problem to start alongside Eden Hazard and Oscar in the attacking midfield three as Demba Ba was handed a chance to lead the line. De Bruyne made an instant impact upon his return and opened the scoring from a Hazard assist before he made way for Victor Moses in one of 10 second-half changes by Mourinho. The Blues sealed victory just before the final whistle after Romelu Lukaku teed up new signing Andre Schurrle to put the match beyond Milan’s reach.

On as a sub with 25 minutes left on the clock, the game was Schurrle’s first of the US tour after recovering from illness. The German’s superb volley – allied with De Bruyne’s opener – merely served a reminder of the number of midfield options Mourinho has at his disposal this season and the new boy was delighted to get off the mark for the Blues, after notching for the first time since moving from Bayer Leverkusen earlier in the summer:

“It’s a really nice feeling and it was important for me. I’m really happy to have scored my first goal, it’s pre-season but it always feels good to score. It was my first for Chelsea so it was a really nice day for me. The team played very well, we were concentrated from the first minute and it was a good match. It wasn’t easy because AC Milan are a quality side….It’s gone very well, we’ve played five games and won five games. Of course, nothing is perfect, but we’ve played well in every match. There are two weeks until the start of the season, and we will be away with our national teams for some of that time, but the team is looking good. It’s always good to win for the confidence and team spirit.”

Hazard’s pre-season displays have clearly had an impact on his new manager. Juan Mata and Oscar were handed extended breaks due to Confederations Cup duties and with Schurrle and De Bruyne spending time on the sideline, the Belgian has been afforded plenty chance to dazzle over the summer, with Mourinho full of praise praise for his performances:

“Eden has been with us from the start of pre-season and at the moment I’m trying to adapt Eden into everything I think a top player should have. For example, Hazard did some defensive work in the friendly against Inter Milan that he usually doesn’t. He is a top talent, but it’s one thing being a top talent and another being a top player. And I want him to be a top player.”

Arsenal 1 Galatasaray 2
Having played host to Napoli on Saturday, Arsene Wenger freshened up his first-team for yesterday’s Emirates defeat. Bacary Sagna partnered Per Mertesacker at centre-half, allowing Carl Jenkinson the right-back berth, Santi Cazorla was afforded his first action of the summer after his Confederations Cup exertions with Spain, while new signing Yaya Sanogo led the line as Olivier Giroud dropped to the bench. Theo Walcott grabbed the hosts only goal (his third of pre-season) thanks to a somewhat fortuitous effort but despite making five alterations in the second-half, the Gunners lost their unbeaten summer record due to a Didier Drogba brace for the visitors.

After the match, Arsene Wenger admitted a couple of his squad are on the verge of leaving the Emirates and also rolled out an injury update on Ryo Miyaichi:

“Gervinho is on a good way to Roma, and Chamakh is on a good way to Crystal Palace….He (Miyaichi) is injured. He has a crack in the rib that he got in Japan in the first game. He hid it from us because he was desperate to play in Japan. At the moment he is injured for two weeks.”

Wrexham 0 Stoke 1
The Potters registered their third successive win in Wales yesterday afternoon. Mark Hughes named Geoff Cameron and Erik Pieters on either side of Ryan Shawcross and Robert Huth for the third time in four matches and reverted to a 4-5-1 formation, allowing Peter Crouch to lead the line. Jermaine Pennant – unable to obtain a work permit to take part in the club’s US tour – started on the right, with Michael Kightly named on the opposite flank, though the pair made way in the second period as Hughes made nine alterations to his XI. Jon Walters replaced Pennant on the right and claimed his second goal in three appearances after slotting home from a Kightly corner – the visitors several missed opportunities to extend their lead but held firm at the back and have now produced a clean sheet in each of their last three matches.

After the match, Hughes talked tactics and admitted he expects his side to take a little time to become accustomed to a possession-based game, after years of the more physical approach favoured by Tony Pulis.

“We are a work in progress in many aspects, but that said I think the players have taken giant strides in such a short space of time. Today you could see passages of play which were good, but at the same time there were one or two things that we weren’t quite so pleased about. The week coming up as a big week for us, and one that I am really looking forward to. There are areas that we have to improve upon, and we will be looking to work on them over the next seven days. We can be better though, and we will be better once the players become accustomed to what we are looking to do. We have good players here and when they fully adapt I believe that they will cause teams a lot of problems.”

The Potters boss also confirmed Brek Shea is ruled out for the season opener at Liverpool after being subbed off with a leg injury in the final match of the club’s US tour:

“It’s not as bad as we first feared which is great news for us, but we will still be without him for a number of weeks. He certainly won’t be available for the first game of the season against Liverpool game, but the medical staff here are excellent and we can expect him to be back sooner than people think given the nature of the injury.”

Shamrock Rovers 0 Aston Villa 2
Paul Lambert’s side also picked up a third straight victory yesterday afternoon. The Villa boss again named Antonio Luna at left-back and was able to recall new boy Aleksandar Tonev in midfield, with the in-form trio of Andreas Weimann, Christian Benteke and Gabby Agbonlahor leading the line. Benteke played a part in both the visitors’ goals – he teed up Weimann for the opener before heading home the second courtesy of a Matthew Lowton cross and has now scored five times in three appearances since returning to the squad late last month.

Lambert made eight alterations over the course of the second period and while the Villa boss was happy with the victory, the return to action of both Tonev and fellow summer signing Jores Okore was equally important:

“The most important thing, which I have said from day one, is no injuries. It’s another game under our belt, another clean sheet and another win. We have one more to go which will be another test. But this is another game under our belt. Alex and Jores have been out for a month so for them to get 45 minutes is important. Yes, the two goals were excellent. But the most important thing for me was the injury situation. It was a game we looked pretty comfortable in. It’s another victory. We are getting there.”

In Other News
Andy Carroll remains confident he is on course to be ready for West Ham’s season opener against Cardiff on August 17. The forward has yet to feature over the summer due to a heel injury but speaking to the Hammers’ official website, he reckons he is in with a shout:

“I’ve been working hard. I’ve been away to Germany with the lads and keeping myself as fit as I can with the work I can still do with my heel still being sore. It’s been tough but I’ve been working hard to be back for the start of the season. I’m dying to get back kicking a ball again. I can’t wait because the last time I kicked a ball was in the final game of last season. Everyone is buzzing about and have come back in great form and great spirits, looking forward to the start of the season. They have been working hard over the summer and can’t wait for the beginning. It is always important to get a win in the first game of the season. Cardiff have just come up so will want to show what they are all about. We need to understand that and get a win under our belts.”

Understandably, Carroll has remained firmly off Fantasy radars as a result of his injury and has been snapped up by just 1% of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers thus far. Given his relatively kind pricing across the Fantasy games – 7.5 in FPL – Carroll’s recuperation will be closely monitored by managers ahead of the campaign’s kick-off, with an opening schedule (CAR, new, STO, sot, EVE, hul) affording him the chance to rack up the points, should he prove his fitness in time for the Bluebirds’ showdown.

Malky Mackay has concerns for the Upton Park clash, according to reports. The Dane failed to feature in his club’s previous game after picking up an ankle injury in training and his manager admitted the new boy faces a race against time with less than a fortnight left until the campaign gets underway, with his potential absence likely to hand Fraizer Campbell the chance to lead the line. Craig Bellamy missed out with illness in the weekend win over Chievo but is expected to be back imminently.

“We’re working on him to get him back for the start of the season. I would be guessing right now if he will be fit for the first game but we still have two weeks.”