There has not been a lot during this pre-season for Chelsea fans to get their teeth stuck into.
The tour of the USA uncovered more awkward questions than hopeful answers, leaving the preamble to the final warmup against Udinese feeling quite downbeat. However, the squad Thomas Tuchel picked and the subsequent performance, particularly in the first half, offered fresh encouragement in the final third with the introduction of Raheem Sterling.
The first signing of the Todd Boehly era started alongside Mason Mount and Kai Havertz, a trio we could likely see deployed against Everton next weekend at Goodison Park. And with Tuchel needing to conjure vast improvement in his attack, the 3-1 win over Udinese offered more positives than negatives.
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Most noteworthy in Udine was the shape of the three as the game progressed. Many would have anticipated that Sterling would spend a majority of his time off the left side of Tuchel's 3-4-2-1. However, he was a lot freer and consistently more central than his attacking peers.
Regularly Sterling would be seen behind Havertz and Mount, sometimes occupying a deeper position you would expect a 10 to fill. Though it soon became evident how effective this starting position was when Chelsea got into motion in a wider position.
Sterling regularly was able to drift into the gap left between Udinese's midfield and defence, on a few occasions arriving to receive the ball inside the box for a direct effort at goal. This was showcased after some neat work from Mount down the left wing, finding Sterling on the edge of the box whose first touch was consistently sharp to open up the chance at goal, this time with Marco Silvestri saving his shot.
For his eventual goal to double Chelsea's lead, Sterling was actually positioned on the opposite flank, again proving his freedom to roam along with Havertz and Mount.
Jorginho's pass finds him well, and again his touch is perfectly weighted to get him one-on-one vs Silverstri. The slight hesitation nearly costs Sterling, and he gains luck with a rebound hitting him to go into the net.
Off the ball, sometimes Sterling would appear as the central striker pressuring the opponent on the ball, though from some goal kicks, it appeared clear that Mount and Havertz were placed in front of the 27-year-old.
Chelsea's attack was massively aided by the performance of N'Golo Kante, who opened the scoring and provided a ton of energy from midfield, a trait that, if maintained, will be transformative for Tuchel.
The only criticism of the evening was the lack of end product despite scoring three goals. Lamenting Chelsea's finishing is certainly nothing new but frustrating given the number of turnovers the Blues achieved high up the pitch. But when you contrast this with the complete absence of any attacking plan in Orlando against Arsenal, there should be more optimism.
This role against Udinese certainly got Sterling into a number of good scoring positions, something Tuchel needs to maximise after the £45m spent for his services from Manchester City and the forward's incredibly consistent output in the Premier League over the past seven years.
The great thing with Sterling is his versatility and the fact he can comfortably fill a role at either wing. Maybe this is a way of Tuchel and the player figuring out where he can prove most effective alongside his new teammates. But with only a week until Everton, this experiment seemed to get Chelsea's new signing into consistently dangerous areas.
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