Chelsea are via to the quarter finals of the Membership World Cup after an thrilling win over Benfica on Saturday evening, and so far as we are able to inform everybody is basically having fun with our summer time journey.
We’re seeing new gamers in motion, profitable video games and incomes huge sums of cash to spend on transfers. It’s additionally filling the weeks we might usually be itchily ready for soccer to return.
However as a lot as we’re having fun with our adventures towards the world’s greatest out within the USA, the true focus will quickly flip to the Premier League. No matter occurs in the remainder of the Membership World Cup, it’s already been successful, particularly if we are able to navigate previous Palmeiras into the semi finals.
However how a lot will that success value us? Not solely are our gamers piling fatigue on high of an exceptionally lengthy season simply gone, they’re additionally consuming into their vacation. They may begin the season in August after simply two friendlies which happen the week earlier than we open our season towards Crystal Palace on the seventeenth of August.
Manchester Metropolis are with us within the USA, however our rivals are resting up. Video games like Chelsea v Spurs and Chelsea v Arsenal subsequent 12 months are going to be particularly fascinating on this context. The North London pair have all this time to organize for the brand new season earlier than we play them in November.
After all the worst factor that would occur now could be an damage to one of many gamers who’ve performed an insane variety of minutes since final August after we confronted Servette to kick off our Convention League marketing campaign. Prime of the record are Moises Caicedo and Marc Cucurella, who desperately want a really prolonged break. We’re praying they will make it to the tip of this match with out an damage.
However even with out damage, the bodily and psychological fatigue we’re accumulating is sort of unprecedented at soccer of this degree. The truth that there’s a World Cup subsequent summer time (additionally within the roasting warmth of the USA our gamers are experiencing now) doesn’t even bear fascinated with.
We are able to nonetheless have an excellent season, however we don’t anticipate the form of quick begin we had final 12 months. Enzo Maresca and his coaches and medical employees have their work minimize out attempting to handle all this and ensure we arrive in our Premier League opener as rested as doable, with out being undercooked.
