Chelsea picked up their first win of the Enzo Maresca era as they beat Club America 3-0 in Atlanta.
It had been a far from convincing start to the summer from the Blues, after a draw with Wrexham was followed by a heavy defeat to Celtic, but this was by a distance the best performance of the USA tour so far.
Two goals came before half-time, as Christopher Nkunku converted a penalty after a couple of minutes and Marc Guiu then got off the mark in a Chelsea shirt with a flicked header, before Noni Madueke’s spot-kick with ten minutes remaining put the match to bed.
The early penalty from Nkunku came after a driving run from Lavia, who replays suggested was fortunate to be awarded the decision for what looked suspiciously like a dive.
Lavia started in midfield with Dewsbury-Hall and the Englishman should have scored at least twice in the first-half, firing over and then wide when presented with two brilliant opportunities.
Madueke was a constant threat for Chelsea, as the front-line created chances at will in a hugely encouraging performance. The Blues got to the byline time and time again, with only poor finishing preventing a first-half rout.
There was at least a second goal before the break, as Dewsbury-Hall clipped a cross to the near post, and Guiu got across the goalkeeper to head home.
Enzo Fernandez and Filip Jorgensen were both introduced at half-time, for a second-half that lacked the same intensity.
There was concern when Malo Gusto, up to that point superb in inverting into midfield, went down off the ball, and he trudged off with 20 minutes remaining to be replaced by Ben Chilwell.
Armando Broja missed a massive chance to make it three, failing to hit the target when clean through on goal, but Chelsea did not have to wait long.
Nkunku showed wonderful footwork to dance into the box and around the goalkeeper, drawing the contact on his way to win Chelsea’s second penalty of the night.
The Frenchman duly threw the ball to Madueke, who stepped up and made no mistake from the spot, to cap a much-improved performance from the Blues ahead of fixtures against Manchester City and Real Madrid.
