The Blues attack sparkled with two summer signings and one January addition making a strong impression.
Chelsea's attacking stars have been, and will continue to be, a talking point. There are seemingly a million of them, after all. The club has gone crazy, signing forwards left, right and centre with seemingly little regard as to how the puzzle pieces will fit.
On Saturday night against Brighton, though, three key members of that attack dazzled with goals, making quite a statement as the Blues pre-season rolls on.
Mykhailo Mudryk, Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku all got on the scoresheet in Chelsea's 4-3 win over Brighton, a match that proved remarkably end-to-end considering the fact that Brighton went down to 10 men with half an hour remaining. Conor Gallagher also netted, but make no mistake, this day was all about the Blues' attackers.
Chelsea's midfield often struggled, with one potential solution to their problems, Moises Caicedo, left out of Brighton's squad. And their defence was cut open a bit too easily by a Brighton team that was down a man.
Those problems are a bit easier to sort out as pre-season goes on. The principle concern for Chelsea has been a horrible lack of goals, with that issue dooming them last season. It's early, but it appears there are a few more in this group, with signings from both this season and last looking set to play a big part.
GOAL analyses at what we learned during the clash at Lincoln Financial Field…
GettyTwo in two for Nkunku
Chelsea waited quite some time for Christopher Nkunku, and it seems the French star was worth their patience.
Nkunku has spent the past few years terrorising the Bundesliga, prompting the Blues to spend £53 million ($68m) to sign him from RB Leipzig this summer. His arrival was met with some questions: where would Chelsea find a spot for yet another attacker?
The answer seems to be simple: wherever they can. Nkunku's versatility is what makes him so special. He can play on the wing, as a No.10 or as a No.9. So far during this tour, he's started at striker, and the results have been solid.
After scoring in a cameo against Wrexham, Nkunku would face a bigger test against Brighton. He passed, converting a nifty flick to level the scoreline in the first half.
Nkunku looks like he'll have plenty of goals in him if the Blues do indeed use him up top, but he isn't the only player vying for minutes at striker.
AdvertisementGettyJackson gets his goal, too
Nicolas Jackson looks like he's for real. After providing an assist in the U.S. opener against Wrexham, the new arrival set up another goal here before scoring one of his own.
Two games into his Blues career, Jackson is proving to be a player that can make things happen in front of goal. Chelsea can use that, having lacked that sort of cutting edge for some time.
Jackson, so far, has looked better than expected, and, on this form, he'll have a bigger role to play this season than many could have envisioned.
Getty ImagesMuch-needed for Mudryk
Could anyone have used that goal more than Mudryk?
He's taken a lot of stick since his Chelsea arrival, weighed down by his price tag and Chelsea's own missteps. There's a reason they paid a hefty for the Ukrainian, though.
What a finish it was from Mudryk, who found the back of the net just moments after Van Hecke's dismissal. Combining with new signing Nicolas Jackson, Mudryk smashed a right-footed shot from just outside of the box, leaving Bart Verbruggen helpless as Chelsea took the lead.
Mudryk was thrilled with his moment of magic. He failed to score in his first 17 Chelsea appearances last season and he'll have surely seen the narrative around him shift because of it.
This one won't count for much in the grand scheme of things, but it surely will mean a lot to Mudryk, who will hope to build on this one going forward.
GettyBrighton's set piece magic
There's an argument to be made against showing off a strong set-piece sequence in preseason. It may be best to save such plays for the Premier League campaign. Any advantage is a good advantage, and there's no advantage better than the element of surprise.
And that's what happened to Chelsea on Saturday: they were surprised. Brighton unleashed a perfect set piece against them, one that was as smooth as any you'll see at any point during the season.
The routine was picture-perfect. A short corner to Solly March cut back to Billy Gilmour followed by a looped ball to the back post to Kaoru Mitoma. The Japanese star's header back across the box left Danny Welbeck with a simple finish. 1-0 Brighton.
It was as well-worked as you could get. Even in mid-season form, Chelsea may not have stopped it. Roberto De Zerbi and Brighton have flexed it in pre-season and, based on this result, we'll likely see it again!