Maresca upbeat as Chelsea gear up for new campaign after perfect pre-season

Sign up now: Get STs newsletters delivered to your inbox

Soccer Football - Friendly - Chelsea v AC Milan - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - August 10, 2025 Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca carries the Club World Cup trophy and the UEFA Conference League trophy on the pitch after the match Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs

REUTERS

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca expressed confidence ahead of his second season at the West London club, as his team gears up for the new campaign following their Club World Cup triumph and a flawless pre-season.

Chelsea clinched the Club World Cup in July with an emphatic 3-0 win over European champions Paris St Germain in the final, and wrapped up their pre-season on Sunday with a commanding 4-1 victory over AC Milan at Stamford Bridge.

Their new forward signings, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap, were both on the scoresheet against Milan, who were reduced to 10 men after defender Andrei Coubis was sent off in the 18th minute.

I think the performance was very good until the red card. We started the way we wanted - intense and with a high tempo on and off the ball, Maresca said on Saturday.

The red card changed a little bit the game but its also normal as Milan started pre-season 40 days ago and this was their sixth friendly.

Chelsea had earlier defeated Bundesliga runners-up Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 in their opening pre-season friendly on Friday.

Its our second