Manchester City vs Chelsea
I’ve said it before, but I really don’t think this tour friendly would have been arranged had the clubs known they would meet a fortnight later, on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season.
Yet here we are with two proud clubs, whose fortunes have been transformed by the arrival of billionaires this century, meeting in Ohio in another stateside Club Friendly.
Now, not for a minute, do I think this encounter will bear any semblance to what we witnessed at Stamford Bridge on August 18.
But it should be entertaining as both tune up for 2024-25 in a friendly and familiar fashion.
Talking Points
It probably could be classed as friends reunited as Pep Guardiola and Enzo Maresca come face to face for the first time since Maresca stood down as Guardiola’s number two to plough his own furrow.
The Italian has done very well too, as he guided Leicester City to the championship title and promotion. Yet the jury is still out as far as this SBOTOP writer is concerned.
As acclaimed journalist Henry Winter wrote this week: “The natural instinct is to wish Maresca well at Chelsea. He learned under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and got Leicester promoted, albeit with a few wobbles and not many fans at the King Power mourned his departure that deeply. Maresca walked into a difficult situation at Chelsea. He needs to win over a fanbase bemused by the departure of Mauricio Pochettino just as form improved.”
And therein lies the issue.
Maresca is walking into a club that has been beset by, certainly viewed from the outside, on and off chaos over the past two years, which means he is hardly likely to be given time to bed in as Pochettino was granted 12 months ago.
The patience is now wearing thin since the soap opera resumed when Pochettino left.
That continued in the West Londoners’ first few pre-season friendlies.
An opening 2-2 draw with League One Wrexham was followed by a 4-1 thumping at the hands of Scottish champions Celtic last weekend, and, while the result is of secondary importance at this time of the year, the defeat was enough for Maresca to call for immediate improvement.
In their defence, Chelsea had 23 shots to Celtic’s 14 and had almost two-thirds of possession against a team well ahead in their pre-season preparations. They have since followed that up with a 3-0 victory over Club America.
Certainly, whatever happens over the next nine months, Chelsea’s new manager won’t be able to say he wasn’t backed in the transfer market, and the latest move seems to involve Nigerian hitman Victor Osimhen.
Chelsea have a longstanding interest in the 25 year-old after he helped Napoli end their 33-year wait to become Italian champions last year, and while club sources have previously indicated they would not be willing to pay his huge release clause, the opportunity to offload Romelu Lukaku from their wage bill could potentially help finance a move for Osimhen.
The West Londoners have agreed to the signing of goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen for a €24 million fee from Villarreal.
In addition, young defender Aaron Anselmino is expected to sign a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge and be loaned back to Boca Juniors. How many of these players Maresca has asked to sign is unclear.
Likewise, it will mean another summer where the man in the dugout has to mould a team, many of whom will be complete strangers.
So Maresca is under some pressure to knit together an expensively assembled bunch of players. That is something City have managed to do better than most over the past decade.
Guardiola believes some of his team will begin the new campaign ‘undercooked’ and earlier this week they were without 13 stars who remain away after their Euro 2024 commitments.
Whether that is the case or just a bit of early psychology, there is enough quality in the ranks of the champions to overcome that, and they have already shown that in bursts in their opening three friendlies against Celtic, AC Milan and Barcelona.
With Brazilian talent Savinho recently added to the ranks, fresh from an outstanding campaign on loan at Girona, where he helped the Spanish side qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their history, they will only be stronger.
His 11 goals and 10 assists across all competitions helped the Catalan club finish third in La Liga behind only Real Madrid and Barca.
So, it’s City vs Chelsea in the States. which should deliver Club Friendly 2024 highlights even if it will probably bear little semblance to what we’ll see when the real action begins.
History
Six of the last eight matches have all been City victories.
Most recently, the FA Cup semi-final in April, when a late Bernardo Silva goal settled the contest at Wembley.
They were two very different clubs when they first met back in 1907 in the former Division One. Billy Brawn and George Hilsdon were the Chelsea scorers on that occasion in a 2-2 draw.
Overall, City have 66 successes compared to 71 Chelsea triumphs and 41 draws, with both league meetings last season ending all square.
As for the Club Friendly 2024 odds, it’s a bit close to call, but I’m leaning towards the blue side of Manchester.
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