Chelsea host Crystal Palace on Saturday in their opening game of the 2021/22 Premier League season.
The Blues made a perfect start to their competitive campaign after securing victory in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday evening.
Although Thomas Tuchel will be concerned by the added physical strain on his squad as a result of that game going to penalties, there’s no bigger confidence booster than winning a trophy, and he’ll be confident that they can get the job done on Saturday.
And Tuchel’s side looked to be in good spirits in training ahead of their first fixture.
Here’s what we noticed.
Abraham relaxed
Romelu Lukaku’s return to Chelsea means that Abraham is believed to be surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge.
According to Goal, via the Mirror, Chelsea have accepted an offer of £34million for the 23-year-old from Roma but have added a buy-back clause.
Abraham is also attracting interest from across London, with rivals Arsenal said to be interested in signing him, especially if they let Alexandre Lacazette go.
However, despite the uncertainty surrounding his future, the Blues frontman looked as relaxed as ever as he celebrated scoring a goal whilst Thiago Silva watched on.
Kante’s presence
N’Golo Kante has emerged as an injury doubt for Chelsea’s Premier League opener against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Tuchel confirmed in his pre-match press conference at Cobham on Friday afternoon that his midfielder sustained an unspecified problem in the UEFA Super Cup final win over Villarreal in Belfast in midweek.
But Blues fans will be happy to know that he was training today, and showed no visible signs of discomfort, meaning he could be involved on the opening weekend.
Chilwell and Mount’s battle
It’s always a little nerve racking seeing two of your established first-team players strongly competing for possession in training ahead of an important fixture, so Chelsea fans might not be too pleased to see Ben Chilwell sliding in on Mason Mount before Saturday’s clash with Palace.
Nevertheless, it was all smiles on the training pitch, and it looks as though the two survived the battle unscathed.
