Photo: Ank kumar / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Chelsea closed out their pre-season programme with a 3-1 win over Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge on Friday, with Joao Pedro scoring twice and new signing Morgan Rogers netting on his debut.
Rogers opened the scoring in the 10th minute after Joao Pedro's header was parried by goalkeeper Alex Remiro, leaving the former Aston Villa midfielder with a simple finish in front of the Shed End. Real Sociedad levelled on the stroke of half-time through Jon Mikel Aramburu's 20-yard volley, which gave Rob Sanchez no chance.
Joao Pedro restored Chelsea's lead two minutes into the second half, heading home a Reece James cross, before completing his brace in the 77th minute with a composed one-on-one finish. The Brazilian now has seven pre-season goals to his name.
Manager Xabi Alonso, taking charge of his first game in the Stamford Bridge home dugout, used 20 players across the 90 minutes. New signings Marco Palestra and Maxence Lacroix both featured from the start alongside Rogers, who had returned to training earlier in the week.
Chelsea lined up in a 3-4-3 shape, with Pedro Neto and Palestra as wing-backs and Cole Palmer supporting Joao Pedro in attack. Later substitutes included Enzo Fernandez, Malo Gusto, Josh Acheampong and Pep Chavarria, the latter making his first appearance in a Chelsea shirt.
Real Sociedad, who included Spain World Cup winner Mikel Oyarzabal from the bench, threatened sporadically but were largely second best after the interval. A crowd of 34,715 attended the match at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea begin the 2026/27 Premier League season away at Fulham on Monday, 24 August.