Chelsea Dispatch Bromley 3-0 Behind Closed Doors
Chelsea ran out 3-0 winners against League One side Bromley in a closed-doors friendly at Cobham. Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens and Emanuel Emegha were on the scoresheet. It was Chelsea’s second successive win under Xabi Alonso. The match might have been clandestine, but it was just as useful a learning experience for the new Spanish manager.
Emegha, who arrived from sister club Strasbourg this summer, has now scored in both of the club’s pre-season matches. He scored again in last weekend’s 3-1 win over Crawley Town, while Gittens has also scored in back-to-back games. There’s no denying his record as he scored 14 goals and provided three assists in all competitions for Liam Rosenior’s Strasbourg during a great 2024-25 season.
Alonso put faith in the club’s ever-growing band of youngsters. Landon Emenalo was given a start and, as the afternoon wore on, Reggie Walsh, Kiano Dyer, Reggie Watson, Shumaira Mheuka and Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli all came on as substitutes.
The squad’s makeup is still more suggestion than firm decision at this early stage of preparations. A lot of the regular first team players haven’t come back to Cobham yet after the World Cup. But Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro have already resumed training with the group.
Chelsea’s trip beckons but Alonso has a tough schedule to negotiate
There will be little time for the Blues to catch their collective breath before they embark on a tough cross-continental trip. Chelsea will travel to Australia on Friday to continue their preparations for the 2026-27 Premier League season, with Alonso’s side playing Western Sydney Wanderers on July 28.
Four days later, for the first time in their long histories, Chelsea and Tottenham will meet outside Britain on August 1 in the Sydney Super Cup at the Accor Stadium, which holds over 80,000 seats.
After the three games, the caravan travels into Asia for the next set. Chelsea will then play Juventus, AC Milan, and Johor Darul Ta’zim in Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia respectively. Chelsea’s failure to qualify for European competition will give Alonso a much easier schedule next season and time to implement his philosophy.
