Real Madrid vs Chelsea

Bank of America Stadium is the venue as Real Madrid and Chelsea go head-to-head in a handsomely-looking summer friendly.

While waiting for Kylian Mbappe to make his highly-awaited club debut, Real Madrid got their off-season preparations off to a slow start. Following a narrow 1-0 loss to AC Milan in their opening United States friendly, Carlo Ancelotti’s side suffered a 2-1 defeat to arch-rivals Barcelona last time out. Interestingly, both matches featured a goal in the first ten minutes of the second half. Before heading across the Atlantic Ocean, Los Blancos had dispatched lower-league Albacete in their first off-season fixture after a dream 2023/24 campaign. In addition to dethroning Barcelona in La Liga, Ancelotti’s charges won a record-extending 15th Champions League title, courtesy of a 2-0 win against Borussia Dortmund in the grand final.

On the other hand, it’s been a dismal pre-season for Chelsea under new manager Enzo Maresca. The Italian’s tenure started with a 2-2 draw against League One outfit Wrexham before the Blues jetted off overseas for a pre-season tour. Celtic extended them an abysmal welcome gift, thrashing them 4-1 before a comprehensive 3-0 triumph against Mexican powerhouse Club America settled fans’ nerves. However, Chelsea slumped again in their last warm-up fixture. Conceding twice on either side of halftime saw the struggling London giants lose 4-2 to Manchester City, heightening the pressure on Maresca ahead of this blockbuster friendly.