Chelsea beat Fulham on Sunday to win the inaugural Premier League Summer Series and end their pre-season exploits in the United States.
Captain Thiago Silva opened the scoring midway through the first half, nodding home a Ben Chilwell corner, before Christopher Nkunku scored his third goals in four friendlies just before half-time.
It was a routine win for Chelsea, who would have hoped to be pushed more by a Fulham team who look well short of match fitness with just two weeks until the new Premier League season.
Gabriel Slonina got the nod to start in goal, with Kepa Arrizabalaga given the day off, and played behind a defence featuring Malo Gusto and Bashir Humphreys.
Thiago Silva and Reece James lift the #PLSummerSeries for Chelsea pic.twitter.com/VNFkTusFVv
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) July 30, 2023
Mauricio Pochettino paired Enzo Fernandez and Andrey Santos in midfield for the first time and Mason Burstow started up front alongside Raheem Sterling and Nkunku.
Nicolas Jackson came on shortly after half-time and could have scored another, extending his fine start to life at the club, only to be denied by Bernd Leno after a jinking run.
It was not all good news for Chelsea, though, who lost Trevoh Chalobah to injury just 15 minutes after being introduced. The defender has been heavily linked with a move to Inter Milan in recent days.
