(PHOTO): Blues step up pre-season training with in-house match #cfc #chelsea

Prior to our travel to America on Saturday for this summer’s pre-season tour, Friday morning was a chance for a number of players within the Chelsea men’s squad to conclude a hard week’s training at Cobham with a competitive in-house match.

The teams were a mixture of senior and Academy players, with the likes of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Trevoh Chalobah, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley among other senior players all in action in front of the watching head coach Thomas Tuchel.

Among those youngsters and returning loanees involved were Tino Anjorin, Mason Burstow, Lewis Hall, Ian Maatsen, Dujon Sterling and Charlie Webster. Following a week of double sessions at our Surrey training base, this was an opportunity to have a runout in the sweltering July sunshine, with two intense halves of 20 minutes played out.

Chilwell and Hudson-Odoi’s participation was particularly good news given their injury issues last season, the former having come on as a late substitute in our final-day Premier League victory over Watford following six months out with a cruciate injury.

Chilwell got himself on the scoresheet early on with a lovely low effort into the far corner after great work in the build-up by Loftus-Cheek. Ziyech also excelled with a couple of goals and an assist, the pick of which was a sweet volley teed up by Barkley and rifled into the back of the net by the Moroccan.

We’ve selected the best of the images from the match for you to enjoy below…

It was another day for fitness levels to be tested, as well as a fresh opportunity for some of our young players to showcase what they have to offer to our head coach.

Ian Maatsen, Levi Colwill, Tino Anjorin and Dujon Sterling were all out on grass at our Surrey training complex, joining the more established senior players at the club with the likes of Ben Chilwell, Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek all out there once again.

You can view Thursday’s session in the training gallery below…

Ross Barkley takes aim

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Tuchel watches on

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Loftus-Cheek on the ball

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Kepa gets a rare outfield run-out

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Sarr and Webster battle for the ball

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Chilwell ups his fitness

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Kepa did end up back in net…

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Bettinelli gets up high

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Stretching the legs

Chilwell goes for the ball

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Levi Colwill holds off a challenge from Burstow

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Webster and Hall go in for a tackle

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Lawrence uses his strength to shrug off a challenge from Chilly

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Anjorin bursts forward with the ball

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Loftus-Cheek stretches to win the ball

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Sterling tries to get the play moving forward