Neither of Chelsea’s new recruits made an appearance in Vegas for their first unofficial game of the season against Liga MX side Club America. Instead, the Blues had to rely on Mason Mount and Timo Werner to score the goals that took them past their opponents in front of a packed crowd at the Allegiant Stadium.
A cagey first-half aside, Werner put Chelsea in front in the 55th minute; the German’s first-time shot from a Reece James cross hit the back of teammate – and returning member of the Blues’ loan delegation – Michy Batshuayi, but he scored on the rebound from close range.
However, a calamitous error at the other end from Thomas Tuchel’s defence brought Club America back in the game. A reckless back-pass from James wrong-footed stand-in goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli, and the ball crawled into the net for an own goal.
Nonetheless, the Chelsea faithful did get something to cheer about again in the 83rd minute when Mount, on as a substitute in the second half, collected a pass from Marcos Alonso, side-stepped his marker, and unleashed a fierce curling effort into the top corner. The Blues won their first game; they play Charlotte FC next before taking on Arsenal.
The Gunners, meanwhile, continued their fine form of late by beating fellow Premier League side Everton 2-0 in Baltimore.
Summer signing Gabriel Jesus stole the show again with a goal and an assist in the space of three minutes – two strikes that would prove to be the difference between the two teams in the end. The Brazilian scored three minutes past the half-hour mark, controlling a cross from a corner and unleashing a powerful shot into the roof of the net.
Three minutes later, he collected the ball high up the pitch, turned and clipped it towards the back post, where it was tapped in by Bukayo Saka. With two wins out of two, Mikel Arteta’s side will take on Orlando City next before facing Chelsea.
