Izuchukwu Okosi
Mauricio Pochettino kicked off his Chelsea career in the perfect fashion after his side ran out 5-0 winners in the Florida Cup against Wrexham at the Kenan Memorial Stadium.
The former Tottenham Hotspur manager opted to start a youthful team, before bringing on some of his big guns for the Blues in the second half – including summer recruit Christopher Nkunku.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAnd the versatile Frenchman capped a brilliant Chelsea performance with a debut goal in what is potentially a sign of things to come for the 25-year-old.
It took just three minutes for the first goal of the Pochettino era, with Ian Maatsen slotting past veteran goalkeeper Ben Foster.
The Dutchman, who helped Burnley win the Championship during his loan spell last season, then added a second shortly before half-time.
A number of changes in the second half had slowed down the game, before Chelsea stepped up a gear in the closing stages.
Conor Gallagher scored Chelsea’s third in the 80th minute, with the England international striking a low shot into the bottom corner after being picked out by Raheem Sterling.
Then came the moment all Blues fans had been hoping for – Nkunku getting on the score sheet.
And he took his goal in fine fashion, as he rounded shot-stopper Rob Lainton – on for Foster – before firing into the roof of the net in the 90th minute.
It was England Under-21 international Cesare Casadei that set Nkunku through on goal with an inch-perfect pass, with the ex-RB Leipzig star showing supporters why Chelsea forked out £53million to sign him.
And left-back Ben Chilwell then put the icing on the cake for the Premier League giants in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
New signing Angelo Gabriel expertly found the run of the defender at the back post, with Chilwell calmly dinking the ball over the onrushing Lainton.
Chilwell’s goal turned out to be the last kick of the game, with Pochettino left beaming with joy following his team’s display.
Pochettino who also had a stint at PSG said in his post-match interview: “I was happy with the attitude and it’s now time to improve more, which is part of the process.
“We are using this period to learn how we want to play. I am happy with the performance.”
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
