Chelsea vs Kawasaki Frontale: Report, highlights and what we learned from the pre-season friendly

Christian Pulisic made his first appearance in a Chelsea shirt as Frank Lampard’s side lost 1-0 to J-League champions Kawasaki Frontale on Friday.

Humid conditions added to the limited sharpness of Chelsea’s players at this stage of pre-season told in the turgid pace of play and they were punished for some poor organisation in defence as Damiao headed in from close range at the back post late on.

Despite the defeat, there were nevertheless some positives to take away for the Blues with a number of young players including Mason Mount, Kenedy and Kasey Palmer all getting valuable minutes while Ross Barkley was a particularly bright performer after coming on as a sub in the second-half.

Ultimately, however, the Premier League club failed to capitalise on their chances and will need to improve before the season gets under way in earnest next month.

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