Chelsea beat Western Sydney Wanderers 6-4 in a preseason friendly in Sydney, with substitute Joao Pedro scoring a hat-trick and setting up another goal after coming on in the second half. Goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen travelled from England to Australia for the trip but returned home after just three days, with the club expecting him to leave, most likely for BlueCo sister side Strasbourg.
Liam Delap was not sent home, though the striker could still be sold this summer to make way for the arrival of 35-year-old Danny Welbeck. Nottingham Forest are among the clubs interested in Delap, but his inclusion in Xabi Alonso's starting line-up suggested no move is imminent.
Delap was upstaged by Chelsea's other attackers, not least the man who replaced him, Joao Pedro. The 23-year-old Delap was substituted after an hour, and the difference between him leading the line and the 24-year-old Brazilian was stark.
Joao Pedro produced a sublime assist for Jamie Gittens in the 66th minute after driving into the box, then scored in the 80th minute, added a second in the 85th and completed his hat-trick in the 89th.
Chelsea have already made clear this summer that Joao Pedro is considered untouchable despite interest from Barcelona.
Teen dreams
Two 17-year-olds, Ryan Kavuma-McQueen and Dastan Satpayev, combined for the first of Chelsea's six goals, with Kavuma-McQueen turning his marker and slipping a through-ball for Satpayev to finish clinically after breaking behind the defence. Satpayev will not technically become a Chelsea player until he turns 18 next month, and he featured as a trialist with permission from his club, FC Kairat of Kazakhstan, and authorisation from his parents.
Reggie Walsh, 17, impressed at number 10 and exchanged a one-two with Dario Essugo for Chelsea's second goal, while 18-year-old Landon Emenalo was prominent down the left flank.
Reggie Watson, still only 16 and the son of former Wigan Athletic midfielder Ben Watson, was a physical force in midfield. When Alonso made nine substitutions after an hour, Watson was the only starter to remain on the pitch.
Gittens gets back on the bike
Jamie Gittens has now scored in three successive friendlies under Alonso, having also found the net in behind-closed-doors wins over Crawley and Bromley in London before this match against Western Sydney Wanderers. The 21-year-old England winger's 2025-26 season was largely written off from January after he suffered a hamstring problem.
Wanderers offer stern test
Western Sydney Wanderers finished bottom of the 2025-26 A-League table, but they pressed high throughout and tested Chelsea's defence. Centre-backs Tosin Adarabioyo, 28, and Josh Acheampong, 20, rarely looked comfortable in possession, and Acheampong was beaten too easily by Aydan Hammond, who skinned the young defender before scoring the Wanderers' second goal past goalkeeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe.
Set-piece concerns
The Wanderers also scored from a corner that was flicked on and headed in by Anthony Pantazopoulos. Chelsea are awaiting the arrival of Austin MacPhee from Aston Villa to take over as their new set-piece specialist.
