Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was glad his players came out unscathed after a friendly against Club America that was ‘sometimes on the edge’ for a while preseason contest.
The Blues defeated the Mexican side 2-1 in Las Vegas, with goals scored in the second half of Mason Mount and Timo Werner, while Reece James scored an own goal.
The result was largely irrelevant, but Tuchel was happy to just avoid injury and accused the opposition of playing a little hard for a friendly.
‘It was a tough game. Normally you start against a lower team where you can find your rhythm,” said the German.
“It’s very different from training, even if you train at a competitive level, as with our selection.
“You could see that they have already started their season. They showed a physical game that we had to adapt to, and I’m glad no one got injured.
“It was on the edge for a friendly in pre-season at times, especially for us in our first game. But it was ok. We adapted and accepted it and didn’t get frustrated.’
Tuchel’s side continues their preparation for the season with three more friendlies against Charlotte, Arsenal and Udinese before their Premier League campaign starts against Everton on August 6.
New signing Kalidou Koulibaly has joined his new teammates in America and hopes to be involved against Charlotte in North Carolina on Thursday, as will Raheem Sterling.
Neither played against Club America, but will do everything in their power to join as soon as possible.
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