Chelsea's uncertain pre-season form continued with a 2-0 victory over Fenerbahçe, immediately followed by a 1-0 loss to Besiktas, in a one day pre-season tournament in Istanbul in which all games lasted 45 minutes, with proceeds going to the families of the Soma mining disaster. The Turkish Superleague starts two weeks later than the English Premier League and the Blues' superior fitness was telling in a convincing display against Fenerbahçe. Having recently lost 3-0 to Werder Bremen, their first loss in six pre-season games but certainly not their first messy display even taking fitness levels into account, they moved the ball around elegantly and were unlucky to see an Oscar goal called offside following a tidy through-ball from Eden Hazard. With Petr Cech getting another chance to impress in the Blues' battle of the goalkeepers - Belgian Thibaut Courtois was ruled out shortly before the game with a minor injury - he pulled off an impressive reaction save to deny Alper Potuk's point-blank header. One zipping drive from former Blue Raul Meireles aside, Fenerbahçe were mostly on the back foot throughout, although nothing could have prepared them for the sublime Diego Costa goal which opened Chelsea's scoring. Picking up the ball from Nemanja Matic with his back to goal midway into his opponents' half, the Spaniard spun on his heels and danced through the Turkish side's midfield and between their central defenders before steering the ball into the far corner. It was the latest in a number of impressive pre-season performances from the £32m striker, signed over the summer from Atletico Madrid, and Chelsea fans will be praying his technical ability, strength and calm head in front of goal translate when their season officially begins away at Burnley in ten days' time. The Blues doubled their lead after winning a free-kick from a particularly nasty two-footed lunge on Diego Costa from Portuguese defender Bruno Alves, who was quickly subbed off in shame. World Cup winner Andre Schurrle hit a crisp free kick over the wall towards Volkan Demirel's bottom left corner, but while the Turkish custodian got a good hand on the ball, he failed to push it far away enough from his goal to prevent right-back-turned-poacher-supreme Branislav Ivanovic reacting quickest to half-volley the rebound home. The second of Chelsea's two games was far less convincing. Besiktas' fitness levels were noticeably superior to Fenerbahçe's, coming off a 3-1 Champions League qualifying victory over Dutch side Feyenoord in which Demba Ba, signed from Chelsea for around £6m over the summer, scored a hat-trick. The Blues struggled to replicate their attacking efficiency from the first half, although another Diego Costa run and shot and a free-kick from Didier Drogba - whose every touch was being roundly booed by the Istanbul crowd following his time at rival Turkish club, Galatasaray - kept goalkeeper Cenk Gonen alert. Demba Ba came on against his former side after quarter of an hour and proved a nuisance, with his late striker earning the corner from Petr Cech from which Ersan finally broke the deadlock for Besiktas to win the mini-tournament with a close-range strike into the stranded Petr Cech's net. Andre Schurrle, Ramires, Oscar and Willian all saw their first minutes on the field for the club since returning from the World Cup, but with two pre-season games to go, Chelsea manager José Mourinho may have reason for minor concern that his team have struggled to find a consistent rhythm befitting their talents in recent games. While it can be a fool's game to try and extrapolate the likelihood of competitive success from pre-season form, Blues fans may have reason for concern about the confidence gained by Louis van Gaal's Man Utd side following a series of impressive displays against major opposition when their side has struggled against the likes of Austria's RZ Pellets (1-1) and Slovenia's Olimpija Ljunbljana (2-1 to Chelsea). Nevertheless, with an away fixture against Hungarian side Ferencváros to come on Sunday and Real Sociedad at home the following Tuesday, Mourinho still has time to refine the form and fitness of his undoubtedly talented squad ahead of their trip to Burnley on Monday 18th August. Chelsea (vs Fenerbahçe): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas (Mikel 39); Schurrle (Ramires 33), Oscar, Hazard (Salah 41); Costa (Drogba 35). Chelsea (vs Besiktas): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Filipe Luis; Matic (Mikel 43), Fabregas (Salah 33); Ramires (Torres 43), Willian, Hazard (Oscar 22); Costa (Drogba 22).
28-year old English writer with a borderline obsessive passion for films, videogames, Chelsea FC, incomprehensible words and indefensible puns. Follow me on Twitter if you like infrequent outbursts of absolute drivel.
