Asmir Begovic endured a nightmare debut as Chelsea kicked off their US tour in humbling fashion with 4-2 defeat against the a second string New York Red Bulls team, with a 16-year-old high school kid scoring the winning goal.
Unsurprisingly, given that the team had only trained for just over a week and manager Jose Mourinho said they would take to the pitch tired, such has been the intensity of the pre-season, several players looked short of sharpness and out of sorts.
But it was Begovic who was most exposed just minutes into his debut, having come on for Thibaut Courtois at half time, conceding four goals in what was a virtually a new team for the second half. With almost his first touch he fumbled a cross which allowed Franklin Castellanos a clear strike on gaol and the former Stoke goalkeeper had John Terry to thank for clearing off the line on 50 minutes.
However, just two minutes later, Terry under-hit a back pass and Begovic failed to claim the ball, allowing Castellanos to score on what turned out to be a chastening evening for Chelsea. It got worse for Begovic, as a header from 16-year-old schoolboy Tyler Adams on 70 minutes, as the Red Bulls went 2-1 up and he was again to blame when they eventually added the fourth on 76 minutes.
In fact Chelsea’s imminent second bid for John Stones may be pinging its way over to Everton as we speak, given the quality of some of the defending on show from Chelsea: Terry’s back pass, Nemanja Matic’s unconvincing flick which led to the Red Bulls third and Ramires timid clearance for the fourth goal all under scrutiny.
Begovic was also responsible for the Red Bulls fouth goal and Mourinho said: ‘First of all I think he was tired the same as Thibaut Courtois and when goalkeepers are very tired co-ordination is low, agility doesn’t exist, speed reaction doesn’t exist.
‘Courtois made a mistake in the first half on his feet; Begovic in the second half was not sharp in his reactions. So, for me, it is a consequence of that. But fantastic goalkeeper, no problem. I’m so happy to have him. Next game against PSG he will start and play the first half so no problem. It’s just a process.’
Few Chelsea players emerged with any credit but Victor Moses had a lively first half, doubtless keen to impress on Mourinho that he wants to fight for a first-team place; and Eden Hazard, receiving the largest cheer of the night from what was eventually a raucous and lively crowd, did at least reciprocate with a range of skills and a goal that merited his reception. Oscar, too, had his moments but sullied them by side footing wide in the closing stages when he could have at least reduced the deficit.
Otherwise there was little to cheer for the majority of Chelsea fans in the 24,067 crowd – just short of capacity – and that which there was came largely in the first half, when Moses, and Bertrand Traore, playing for the first time since his made constant in-roads to the Red Bulls defence.
In reality, though this should not have been much a contest for Chelsea, despite their lack of training. The Red Bulls had a US Open Cup tie here against Philadelphia Union on Wednesday night, so Chelsea faced a shadow squad made up largely of reserves and youth team players, such as Adams, who had shone even before his goal.
Loic Remy opened the scoring on 26 minutes, finishing off an Oscar cross, but only after the Red Bull defenders had given him three attempts at setting himself up for the shot. Moses then hit the post on 40 minutes while Oscar had gone close from a free kick, though there were notable misses from Kurt Zouma and Remy, after he had scored, which were an early indication of the lack of sharpness which would later become all the more evident. The Mail Uk.