Udinese 1-3 Chelsea: Raheem Sterling scores his first goal for the Blues

Raheem Sterling scored his first Chelsea goal tonight as the club defeated Udinese 3-1 in a pre-season friendly at the Dacia Arena.

Match Report

N'Golo Kante opened the scoring with a great strike after just 20 minutes, driving forward from midfield before unleashing a low shot from the edge of the box to beat goalkeeper Marco Silvestri.

Raheem Sterling then opened his account with the Blues to double Chelsea's lead on 37 minutes, latching onto a through ball into the box and scoring a rebound after his initial effort was saved.

Udinese kept the game lively however, and former Watford forward Gerard Deulofeu capitalised on a rebound to hit back just before half time.

Chelsea dominated the ball after the break but failed to make the most of several good chances before Callum Hudson-Odoi set up Mason Mount to score in the final minutes of the game to seal the win.

Blues fans will be impressed with the performance of new signing Kalidou Koulibaly, who looked assured on the left side of a defensive back three alongside Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta before being substituted.

ason Mount also delivered an impressive performance in Northern Italy, and could have had a second goal in the dying seconds of the game.

The win, just one week before the first game of the Premier League campaign will come as a relief to Tuchel after the Blues have endured a difficult pre-season.

An victory over Club America was followed by a defeat on penalties by MLS side Charlotte FC, and a 4-0 loss to Arsenal, to cap off a pre-season tour of the US to forget for the Blues. 

Line-ups

Udinese XI: Pereyra, Silvestri, Deulofeu, Masina, Benkovic, Success, Walace, Makengo, J. Bijol, B. Soppy, I. Udogie

Subs: Padelli, Nuytinck, I. Nestorovski, I. Pussetto, S. Lovric, Enzo Ebosse, N. Perez, L. Samardžić, F. Ebosele, M. Palumbo, Edoardo Piana, James Abankwah, Simone Pafundi, Nicolò Cocetta, Axel Guessand

Chelsea XI: Thiago Silva, Azpilicueta, Alonso, Koulibaly, Sterling, Jorginho, E. Mendy, Kante, Mount, Havertz, Reece James

Subs: Emerson, Kepa, Kenedy, Hudson-Odoi, Gilmour, H. Vale