Monday morning saw Chelsea take to their training pitches in Cobham ahead of flying out to Italy to take on AC Milan in the Champions League. The Blues head to the San Siro with hopes of repeating the impressive performance they issued at Stamford Bridge to dispatch their Serie A opponents 3-0 less than a week ago.
Graham Potter was not afforded a boost in the form of N'Golo Kante who, despite having been integrated into training in recent weeks, was not involved in the session in addition to long-term absentee Wesley Fofana. Winger Hakim Ziyech was also missing having come off the bench to face Wolves at the weekend.
Neither Thiago Silva or Denis Zakaria were in Chelsea's squad for their win over the managerless Midlands side, but both emerged from the changing rooms to participate ahead of the journey across Europe.
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football.london takes a look at a few moments from Chelsea's open training session ahead of AC Milan.
Goalkeeper atmosphere
As always the Blues' stoppers were first out for training and from the off, the intensity was obvious. Edouard Mendy, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Marcus Bettinelli were rigorously put through their paces by Ben Roberts with shots fired from all angles to test the keepers' reflexes.
On a short pitch, two of Chelsea's stoppers were put in a goal each with a ball sent at one goal for the glovesman to make a save before distributing the ball in the opposite direction for the other goalkeeper to be tested in return. The noise from players and coaches alike dominated the Cobham air, while the outfield stars went through their warm up more tepidly.
Mendy even showed a penchant for shooting as he once took the ball on the left side of the pitch before hitting an accurate, curling shot to the corner past Kepa.
Friendly competition
Chelsea have already seen 11 different goalscorers this season but two in particular are starting to find their form. Kai Havertz and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have both netted twice this term, one goal behind Raheem Sterling, and are set to compete for a place leading Chelsea's forward line moving forwards. Armando Broja getting in on the action against Wolves at the weekend with a fine finish, certainly helped ensure it won't be an easy competition.
It appears the pressure of earning a place in the starting XI has not caused any frays at the start of the relationship as teammates however, as Havertz and Aubameyang headed out to the training pitches in deep conversation, while much of the rest of the squad headed out singularly. The German forward could also be used in support of Aubameyang, so it will be interesting if their connection on the pitch can also develop.
Cucurella steps up to the plate
While often the focus of the open portions of training sessions can simply revolve around warming up, even professional footballers cannot avoid some hijinks with so many balls left lingering around the training pitch.
The Blues session started out with plenty of jogging before developing in a light warm-up drill that saw the players move around cones before having a ball thrown to them twice, with the stars having to return it with each foot. Even with a comprehensive set up in place from Graham Potter's coaching staff and an easy transition to the next drill, Marc Cucurella couldn't help but capture Thiago Silva's attention in the brief pause.
The former Brighton ace had the gauntlet laid down to him by Thiago Silva, who rolled a ball in his direction and gestured to one of the many goals on the pitch. Cucurella simply checked what the veteran wanted and pointed towards the bar, lined himself up and hit the ball firmly and soon the sound of the crossbar was echoing through the air. The Spaniard quickly turned around in the direction of Silva, as the ex-AC Milan defender puffed out his cheeks, and ran into the drill that was starting next.
No outfield youngsters
You can usually find which youngsters may travel with the first team or even be afforded a Champions League opportunity by looking at a club's B-list for European matches. Armando Broja still fulfils the criteria despite his prominent first team role this term but Chelsea already have a couple of other names on there too.
Midfielders Lewis Hall and Charlie Webster, both 18, have a place on the list but were not involved in the Blues' session on Monday. The duo are likely to face Milan's youth team on Tuesday with Chelsea's under-19s in desperate need of a win to keep their UEFA Youth League hopes alive.
Since an opening day defeat to Dinamo Zagreb, the Blues have recorded two draws, and with a number of stars missing from last week's effort versus Milan at Cobham, Ed Brand's side will take confidence into the return fixture. Neither Webster or Hall played, with both involved in the EFL Trophy win over Oxford United the previous day.
Three points is vital for the team, who sit third in their group, three points behind both FC Salzburg and Milan, with three games remaining.
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