Udinese 1-3 Chelsea: Raheem Sterling scores his first goal for his new club as the Blues beat their Serie A opponents to finally give Thomas Tuchel something to laugh about in pre-season
Chelsea defeated Udinese 3-1 in their last preseason friendly on Friday
Goals from N’Golo Kante, Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount secured the win
New addition Kalidou Koulibaly gave a great performance in the heart of the defense
The Blues now look ahead to their Premier League opener against Everton
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Raheem Sterling scored his first Chelsea goal tonight when the club defeated Udinese 3-1 in an exhibition game at the Dacia Arena.
N’Golo Kante opened the scoring with a great attack 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 in 37 minutes, take a through ball in the penalty area and score a rebound after his first attempt was saved.
Chelsea defeated Serie A club Udinese 3-1 at the Dacia Arena in their last friendly of the season
Raheem Sterling was able to score his first goal for Chelsea since coming from Manchester City
Mason Mount and N’Golo Kante joined Sterling on the scoresheet on a positive night
However, Udinese kept the game lively and former Watford striker Gerard Deulofeu took advantage of a rebound to hit back just before half-time.
Chelsea dominated the ball after the break, but failed to capitalize on a number of good chances before Callum Hudson-Odoi let Mason Mount score in the closing minutes of the game to seal the win.
Blues fans will be impressed by the performance of new signing Kalidou Koulibaly, who certainly looked to the left of a defensive back-three alongside Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta before being substituted.
Thomas Tuchel hopes to build his team from third place in the league last season
Chelsea are now looking ahead to the start of the new season starting next weekend
Mason Mount also put in an impressive performance in northern Italy, and could have scored a second goal in the closing seconds of the game.
The win, just a week before the first game of the Premier League campaign, will come as a relief to Tuchel after the Blues endured a difficult preseason.
A win over Club America was followed by a penalty defeat to Charlotte FC of the MLS, and a 4-0 loss to Arsenal, finishing a pre-season tour of the US to be forgotten by the Blues.