Joao Pedro scored a nine-minute hat-trick as Xabi Alonso began his Chelsea reign with a ridiculous 6-4 victory over Western Sydney Wanderers in pre-season.
Chelsea led through 17-year-old Dastan Satpaev in only the sixth minute, yet managed to fall behind three times to the A-League side before substitute Joao Pedro showed his class with a late treble in Sydney.
Alonso named a youthful side in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Tosin and Liam Delap the only significant senior experience in the starting XI before introducing the likes of Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro, Estevao and Levi Colwill midway through the second half.
Chelsea's first two goals, the second coming from Dario Essugo, were brilliant moves from back to front on a bumpy pitch used primarily for rugby league matches, and were a sign of the style Alonso will hope to implement at Stamford Bridge.
But their defending was poor and after being level at the break, Alonso's side were trailing in the 64th minute by the time he brought on his stars, deploying Palmer in the No 10 role with Estevao on the right and Jamie Gittens on the other side.
Gittens levelled two minutes after his introduction for 3-3, yet Estevao's slack pass left youngster Reggie Watson short deep inside their own half, and Western Sydney substitute Awan Lual punished the error to restore their lead with little over 10 minutes remaining.
But then the Joao Pedro show started. He finished expertly from inside the box to bring Chelsea level again, slotted home to give them the lead after being played in by Palmer and then tapped in his third from a couple of yards at a corner to seal the win.
More to follow...
The key moments from Sydney
- 6: GOAL! Teenager Satpaev scores the first goal under Alonso with a superb finish at the end of a wonderful Chelsea move.
- 14: EQUALISER! Western Sydney level things up as Pantazapoulos nods in at the back post at a corner.
- 32: GOAL! The hosts take a shock lead as Hammond takes advantage of poor Chelsea defending to slot home.
- 38: CHELSEA EQUALISE! Another lovely move unlocks Western Sydney as Essugo exchanges one-touch passes with Walsh before finishing.
- 46: SUBS! Only two changes at the break for Chelsea as Kellyman and Nicoll-Jazuli replace Kavuma-McQueen goalscorer Essugo.
- 62: GOAL! Scicluna restores Western Sydney's lead by finishing into the bottom left corner after a blocked clearance falls to him.
- 64: CHELSEA SUBS! Alonso makes nine changes, bringing on Sanchez, Palestra, Colwill, Fofana, Anselmino, Estevao, Palmer, Gittens, Joao Pedro.
- 66: GOAL! Joao Pedro makes an instant impact, dribbling into the area and pulling the ball back for Gittens to make it 3-3.
- 78: GOAL! The hosts restake the lead for a third time as Lual capitalise on Estevao and Walsh's error at the back to score.
- 80: GOAL! Joao Pedro quickly levels again for Chelsea with a smart finish from just inside the box.
- 85: GOAL! Chelsea lead for the first time since the sixth minute as Palmer plays in Joao Pedro to finish.
- 89: HAT-TRICK! Joao Pedro nets his third in nine minutes to seal a dramatic Chelsea victory.
Chelsea's pre-season fixtures
July 28: Chelsea 6-4 Western Sydney Wanderers - Sydney
August 1: Chelsea vs Tottenham, Sydney, 10.45am
August 5: Chelsea vs Juventus, Hong Kong, 12.30pm
August 8: Chelsea vs AC Milan - Jakarta, 1pm
August 9: Johor Darul Ta'zim vs Chelsea - Johor, 1pm
August 15: Chelsea vs Real Sociedad - Stamford Bridge, 2pm
