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| Chelsea v Milan: International Champions Cup – live! | Chelsea v Milan: International Champions Cup – live! |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| 2.31am BST | |
| 02:31 | |
| Your teams: | |
| Here's our team to face Milan: Courtois; Aina, Terry (c), Cahill, Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas; Willian, Traore, Costa, Moses. #CFCTour | |
| #ACMilan's XI vs @ChelseaFC:Donnarumma; Abate Paletta Romagnoli Calabria; Kucka Poli Bonaventura; Suso Luiz Adriano Niang#ACMCFC #ICC2016 | |
| 2.29am BST | |
| 02:29 | |
| Hello, and apologies for the late start. Internet issues mean Aaron is unable to do tonight’s report, so I’m stepping in. I started work 14 hours ago, so you can imagine this is an absolute thrill for me. Go Chelsea! | |
| 8.47pm BST | 8.47pm BST |
| 20:47 | 20:47 |
| Aaron will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s Paul Doyle on Chelsea’s outlook for the new season: | Aaron will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s Paul Doyle on Chelsea’s outlook for the new season: |
| Chelsea did not defend their title last season so much as prosecute it for fraud, so it is going to be fascinating to see what sort of case they put forward this time. Their new manager, Antonio Conte, has a gleaming record, a shrewd approach to tactics and a maniacal will to win, but it is not yet clear that he has the players to make good on his declared intention to transform Chelsea into a “little war machine”. | Chelsea did not defend their title last season so much as prosecute it for fraud, so it is going to be fascinating to see what sort of case they put forward this time. Their new manager, Antonio Conte, has a gleaming record, a shrewd approach to tactics and a maniacal will to win, but it is not yet clear that he has the players to make good on his declared intention to transform Chelsea into a “little war machine”. |
| Some players appeared on their last legs last season while others seemed plain lily-livered or had their hearts and minds elsewhere. Conte will have to wring improved performances from at least some of those or promote from the youth ranks and use the transfer market. Probably he will try to do all three in varying doses; if he gets it right in a division in which all rivals also appear to have flaws, then Chelsea could conceivably be champions again. But if he doesn’t find a winning formula quickly, then they could remain estranged from the top four, a currently high-flying manager could be sent on his bike and there will be a belated mass purge at Stamford Bridge. | Some players appeared on their last legs last season while others seemed plain lily-livered or had their hearts and minds elsewhere. Conte will have to wring improved performances from at least some of those or promote from the youth ranks and use the transfer market. Probably he will try to do all three in varying doses; if he gets it right in a division in which all rivals also appear to have flaws, then Chelsea could conceivably be champions again. But if he doesn’t find a winning formula quickly, then they could remain estranged from the top four, a currently high-flying manager could be sent on his bike and there will be a belated mass purge at Stamford Bridge. |
| Two causes for optimism arrived in the persons of Chelsea’s two major player recruits, Michy Batshuayi and N’Golo Kanté, both of whom look well suited to Conte’s forceful style. Paying £33m for a striker who is not fully polished shows the level to which inflation has climbed but Batshuayi has the potential to make a big impact on the Premier League and does not seem inclined to distract himself with senseless spoiling for a fight, which gives him an edge on Diego Costa for one. | Two causes for optimism arrived in the persons of Chelsea’s two major player recruits, Michy Batshuayi and N’Golo Kanté, both of whom look well suited to Conte’s forceful style. Paying £33m for a striker who is not fully polished shows the level to which inflation has climbed but Batshuayi has the potential to make a big impact on the Premier League and does not seem inclined to distract himself with senseless spoiling for a fight, which gives him an edge on Diego Costa for one. |
| One thing that seems certain about Conte’s planned formation is that it will include two strikers, as the manager ends Chelsea’s long preference for a lone forward fulcrum. The Italian has also hinted that he is open to ending Costa’s tetchy relationship with the club, a move that seems in everyone’s interests, and that could lead to Batshuayi being partnered by a new arrival – or a returnee if Chelsea prise back Romelu Lukaku from Everton. Conte would then have to demonstrate his coaching skills by honing the two young Belgians into a consistently deadly strikeforce; and if the manager can do likewise with the gifted Bertrand Traoré, then Chelsea would have fearsome and very fast attacking options before there is any need to wonder about Loïc Rémy’s ability to contribute. | One thing that seems certain about Conte’s planned formation is that it will include two strikers, as the manager ends Chelsea’s long preference for a lone forward fulcrum. The Italian has also hinted that he is open to ending Costa’s tetchy relationship with the club, a move that seems in everyone’s interests, and that could lead to Batshuayi being partnered by a new arrival – or a returnee if Chelsea prise back Romelu Lukaku from Everton. Conte would then have to demonstrate his coaching skills by honing the two young Belgians into a consistently deadly strikeforce; and if the manager can do likewise with the gifted Bertrand Traoré, then Chelsea would have fearsome and very fast attacking options before there is any need to wonder about Loïc Rémy’s ability to contribute. |
| Related: Premier League 2016-17 preview No4: Chelsea | Paul Doyle | Related: Premier League 2016-17 preview No4: Chelsea | Paul Doyle |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 8.48pm BST | at 8.48pm BST |