A big afternoon for Alonso
Marcos Alonso signed a new long-term deal at Chelsea last season, however his regular first team spot is in danger of being take from.
For much of last season, the Spaniard continued in the left-back role, only being displaced by Emerson towards the back-end of the campaign.
However, this pre-season the Brazilian-born Italy international has stayed ahead of his rival, impressing for much of the summer and showing more of the qualities that Frank Lampard will be looking for.
Both have natural attacking instincts, with Alonso scoring as many goals as any other defender in the league over the past couple of seasons.
Lampard likes his full-backs to play high up the pitch, which means that there can be a gap behind and recovery pace is needed.
That is where Emerson has the edge right now and it means the Blues head coach is likely leaning towards Emerson over Alonso.
The game at Reading will be a big afternoon for Alonso to try to wrestle to initiative back and earn his spot in Lampard’s XI.
Keep up the momentum
Barcelona was a big step forward for Lampard and for what he wants from his side over the course of the campaign.
The win was nice, although the result means for absolutely nothing and the Chelsea head coach would have just been happy with the performance.
It was Chelsea’s fourth pre-season game of the campaign, while the match in Saitama was Barcelona’s first, so of course the fitness levels would have been different.
The Blues showed a lot of sharpness, which was highlighted with their first goal in which Jorginho won the ball high and Tammy Abraham neatly finished.
The performance was an effective one, the defence looked solid and it needed an Ivan Rakitic rocket to deny a clean sheet.
The key will be keeping the momentum going with just two weeks left until the season starts.
Cesar Azpilicueta to silence the doubters
Unsurprisingly, Cesar Azpilicueta has racked up the most amount of minutes in pre-season so far, level with another veteran in Pedro.
But or many Chelsea fans, the captain is not necessarily the best person to be taking the spot at right-back.
Azpilicueta has been superb for the Blues since signing in 2012, really excelling under Antonio Conte as the right of the three at the back.
However, last season Maurizio Sarri moved him back into the conventional right-back position, and it was an up and down campaign.
Once again, ‘Dave’ is expected to be playing the role, however as yet he is really yet to shine over the course of the summer.
He is Mr. Dependable and also has that presence in the side, ready to give everything for the team over the course of 90 minutes.
The fact that he returned to pre-season earlier than some of the other more regular first teamers just highlights his dedication to the cause.
However, there is still the doubt over his ability in the position. Davide Zappacosta is hardly pushing for a place in the side, but when Reece James returns from his injury, then he certainly will do.
Every chance on the pitch is a real opportunity for Azpilicueta to cement his spot.
Chelsea's surprise star
Maybe one of the surprise players to have come out of pre-season is Kenedy.
The Brazilian has been on loan at Newcastle United for the past 18 months, having a decent first stint but then having a really poor 2018/19 campaign with the Magpies.
Kenedy has a lot of making up to do with his performances, having been thrown off the pre-season summer tour in 2017 of Singapore and China, with Instagram posts that offended the Chinese people.
However, with Eden Hazard having left there is a chance for a player to take up the mantle and be the star.
Of course, Christian Pulisic, Willian, Pedro and Callum Hudson-Odoi will have a big say in that, but Kenedy has impressed and certainly staked a claim to be part of the Premier League squad.
