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From Chelsea's final preseason friendly, we learned four things.

Lesley Ugochukwu's last-minute goal against Italian champions Inter helped Chelsea complete their preseason with a 1-1 tie.


Enzo Maresca's Chelsea career has had a rather uneventful start thus far. A 4-1 loss to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership plus defeats to Manchester City and Real Madrid earlier in the summer had Chelsea under pressure on their USA tour.

On home ground, they did, however, manage to salvage a rather favorable outcome against Inter. The 20-year-old Ugochukwu's late equalizer tied the score, after the Serie A team had led for most of the contest.

These are the four things we discovered during their last preseason encounter at Stamford Bridge.

The key will be patience. 


Maresca might require more time at Chelsea.

Chelsea may need to trust the process and give Enzo Maresca time to become settled at Stamford Bridge if they think he's the perfect guy to take them to victory.

This adage applies to the Chelsea team as well because Maresca has hinted that for his method to function, the players' attitudes must change. The Blues' Premier League opener is against Manchester City, so supporters may have to wait a little while longer to witness their team's win celebration.

Good things, though, might be in store after the team has adapted to Maresca's style of play and some of the more difficult games are over.

Marc Guiu might be a fantastic addition.


In Chelsea's draw with Inter, Guiu looked impressive.

The new addition to Chelsea Throughout the Blues' preseason, Marc Guiu has been entertaining to watch, and he truly came alive at the attacking end against Inter. Guiu might develop into the productive striker the Blues anticipate he will be very quickly if he can get help from the midfield.

With his strong link-up play and ability to command physicality, he is an intimidating presence on the field and was able to lead Inter's push from the front.

When he's completely developed, Guiu may emerge as one of Chelsea's most talented players, either this season or in a few more. 

This season, Noni Madueke will flourish.


This season, Madueke might emerge as Chelsea's star.

Noni Madueke is deserving of a starting position on the flank since he has the ability to make the 2024–25 campaign his own.

Despite the rumors that he could be leaving Stamford Bridge this summer, Madueke is a skilled player who Chelsea should take into consideration for future plans. The Blues frequently turned to Madueke against Inter, who assumed his full-back role and easily placed crosses into the box.

The Chelsea team won't regret investing in him if he can stick around and battle for his position.

Has Chelsea finally assembled the ideal backfield?


Colwill is back to normal.

Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, and Marc Cucurella made up Chelsea's starting back four for this matchup; this group may be their starting lineup for the entire Premier League season.

Although the Blues' defense has frequently come under fire, this lineup appeared solid, and this game had many encouraging aspects.

When in control, Gusto had the opportunity to switch to midfield, but Colwill and Fofana made an excellent center-back duo. Maresca should have a lot more success in the regular season with this group than he did in the preseason, especially when facing some of the best opponents. 

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