Home Club Friendly for ‘Flat-Track Bullies’

Chelsea vs Bayer Leverkusen

I’ll be honest, this SBOTOP scribe didn’t really rate Chelsea’s achievements all that highly last season.

Sure, they qualified for the Champions League by finishing fourth in the Premier League and then went onto win the Europa Conference League but, given their financial outlay over the past three years, that is a pretty mediocre return.

Truthfully such investment should really lead to being in contention for both the league title (something they never were) and Europe’s top prize rather than its third tier competition which, let’s face it, is really aimed at providing some of the lesser clubs with a chance of gaining European football.

Rather than label them as ‘flat-track bullies’, however, I was more impressed with their success in last month’s World Club Championship.

Even though that is little more than an invitation-only tournament (the real world title will be up for grabs in December), it pointed to a side who could well now be capable of challenging for the biggest club honours.

So now is the time to start accurately judging Chelsea under the Italian Enzo Maresca and to see just how good, or otherwise, they really are.

As they welcome Bayer Leverkusen to Stamford Bridge for their penultimate pre-season club friendly, we may get a few clues.

Talking Points

This game, along with a friendly against Milan a few days later, could see both friendly 2025 highlights and see Chelsea hand debuts to three of their summer signings.

Willian Estevao, Jamie Gittens, and Jorrel Hato are in line to sport blue for the very first time. Estevao and Gittens were both involved in Palmeiras and Borussia Dortmund’s Club World Cup campaigns – the former even played and scored against Chelsea – while Hato signed from Ajax last week.

Forwards Joao Pedro and Liam Delap could also be set for home debuts after impressing at the Club World Cup.

Maresca had injury headaches over Benoit Badiashile, Romeo Lavia, Dario Essugo and Enzo Fernandez but, quite frankly, such is the strength of the squad at his disposal, Chelsea pretty much have three players for every position.

How Maresca’s compatriot would love such issues.

Erik ten Hag’s squad is gearing up to face Chelsea in a club friendly at Stamford Bridge — Erik ten Hag’s Bayer Leverkusen will lock horns with Chelsea in a pre-season friendly fixture at Stamford Bridge

The former Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag has arrived in Germany just as Levekusen has lost several key figures in its success in the shape of Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong (to Liverpool), Jonathan Tah (to Bayern Munich), Odion Kossounou (to Atalanta) and Granit Xhaka (to Sunderland).

It’s early days and the Dutchman is beginning to put his stamp on the squad with the arrivals of Mark Flekken from Brentford, Jarrell Quansah from Liverpool and Malik Tillmann from PSV Eindhoven but, after such a big shake-up, there is no doubt the side which won the Bundesliga league and cup double in 2024 – and was one game from going an entire season at home and abroad unbeaten – is starting again when it comes to building a squad ready to chase silverware.

On saying that, ten Hag has an uncanny ability to win trophies and seems an astute replacement for Xabi Alonso.

The Bundesliga outfit won’t be at full strength for their visit to London as Aleix García and Jeanuel Belocian are managing injuries and might not be risked. Martin Terrier is already confirmed to miss the start of the season.

Such change in personnel will mean the visitors may struggle against a side of Chelsea’s might, even in a pre-season friendly.

Although Ten Hag is keen for new additions, he will at least be relieved that star striker Patrik Schick has committed his future to the club this week.

On Monday, the Czech international, who scored 21 Bundesliga goals last season, signed a new deal which extends his stay at the club through to the summer of 2030.

Schick has scored 81 goals in 168 competitive appearances since joining Leverkusen from Roma, via a loan stint at RB Leipzig, in 2020 and he will be a major figure as the Leverkusen rebuild begins.

While they are planning to return to the level they were at, for Chelsea, now is the time. Their squad and extensive outlay demands that.