Two second-half penalties rescued a draw for Chelsea in their final game of pre-season, as Borussia Monchengladbach became the latest team to exploit the Blues’s defensive frailties.
A torrid first-half display saw Chelsea concede for the fifth game running, as Alassane Plea capitalised on a poor clearance to put Monchengladbach ahead after just 13 minutes. The Blues mustered little in way of a reply and were duly punished just before the break when Jonas Hoffman doubled the hosts’ lead with a swift counter.
Despite what the scoreline suggests Chelsea were not overly heroic in their attempts to restore parity, and instead relied upon two hapless challenges from the Monchengladbach defence to claw their way back into the game. Both Tammy Abraham and Ross Barkley dispatched their respective penalties with confidence, but with just a week before the new season gets underway, there was little cause for optimism as the Blues struggled to carve out chances and continued to defend with an amateurish haphazardness.
Here’s how we rated the Blues.
