The night was low and the dawn of Saturday (30th) was filled with the smoke of a warm-up match. Chelsea managed to break the haze of two consecutive defeats with a 3-1 come-from-behind victory over Udinese away from home. New flanker Staanen scored a brilliant shot, not only winning his maiden goal, but also signaling his gradual integration into the Blue Army.
Looking back at Chelsea's previous two warm-up matches, the team's performances were controversial as they lost a penalty shootout against Charlotte FC and were humiliated by Arsenal in the last round with a score of 0-4. However, this game was a dream come true for the Chelsea crowd, as the deadlock was broken by a powerful shot from Nicol Aspilicueta after only 20 minutes in the first half. It is worth noting that the French international was unable to travel with the team to the United States for a training trip due to his unvaccinated status, but his absence does not seem to have affected his game.
In the 37th minute of the match, Staanen had a one-touch chance to score his maiden goal, and despite being parried by goalkeeper Marcos Acerbi, the ball rebounded smartly into the net. Diogo Costa equalized for Udinese just before halftime, making the score 1-2.
The teams were locked in a stalemate after the changeover. In extra time, Mikel Barrios grabbed the goal in front of the goal to seal the 3-1 win for Chelsea. With the pre-season warm-up matches behind them, Chelsea will gear up for the first round of the new Premier League season against Everton.
