It was as the sun disappeared behind the Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium that Chelsea's players emerged for their final training session ahead of the Club World Cup semi-final against Al Hilal, winners of the 2021 AFC Champions League.
Chelsea's coaching staff were waiting but there was no Thomas Tuchel. The German is, of course, absent having tested positive for Covid on Friday evening. Instead, the session would be overseen by technical director Petr Cech, Zsolt Low, Arno Michels, Anthony Barry, and the rest of the coaching team.
There was no heavy-duty work undertaken by the Blues' players; it was a session largely designed to keep the squad ticking over for tomorrow's clash and one that lasted around an hour at dusk in Abu Dhabi.
