Chelsea 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur: 5 Talking Points as Spurs come back from behind to draw | Club friendlies 2021

#3 Game of two halves results in a draw

Malang Sarr's error led to Tottenham's equalizer out of nowhere

Thomas Tuchel made seven changes to his Chelsea side that appeared ready to take on Villarreal in a week's time at the UEFA Super Cup.

Chelsea clearly looked disjointed and jaded as the second 45 wore on, especially after Ziyech's second goal. Just seven minutes after they doubled the lead, Tuchel's men lost the ball in a dangerous area to Lucas Moura.

The former Paris Saint-Germain winger drove into the Chelsea box and scalped his slice of fortune with a deflected goal. It was pacy and direct on his end.

Then, out of absolutely nowhere and under little pressure, Malang Sarr presented the ball straight to the opposition. Steven Bergwijn drilled a low effort between Edouard Mendy's legs to level the scoreline. Nine out of ten times, the Chelsea custodian would have stopped that effort.

It was a game of two halves, but Chelsea look ready for the upcoming campaign in Tuchel's first full season in charge. With their English and Italian stars set to return in the coming days, it could only get better.

---

#4 Chelsea have their dream centre-halves at Cobham

Trevoh Chalobah has enjoyed a successful pre-season with Chelsea

Chelsea have been widely linked with Jules Kounde, who is their top priority centre-back option following the permanent departures of academy prospects Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi. Faustino Livramento has also secured a permanent move to Southampton.

However, Chelsea may have the best crop of central defenders at Cobham. Ethan Ampadu looked decent on the ball and was comfortable. Sarr may not have had the best game of his career, but did impress on occasion. Kurt Zouma was once again strong and timely with his enormous presence at the back.

Dujon Sterling's crunch tackles are being spoken about in detail amongst Chelsea fans. But one youngster who may have caught Tuchel's eye more than the others is Trevoh Chalobah.

Blessed to get more minutes. Nice to have the fans back 💙 #CFC pic.twitter.com/UGWTvTrywF

— Trevoh Chalobah (@TrevohChalobah) August 4, 2021

The 22-year-old continues to get chances in pre-season and always steps up with neat performances. Chalobah was measured, calm and intelligent with his defending against Spurs, communicating well with the senior defenders in a back three.

Chalobah was also fantastic with his distribution and attacking during Chelsea's corners. He is one to watch out for should he remain at Stamford Bridge. Maybe the Blues should just trust one of their their own instead of splashing cash on Kounde.

---

#5 Is this the season Hakim Ziyech explodes?

Ziyech reacts during the match against Tottenham Hotspur

Former Chelsea star Pat Nevin stated at half-time that any Chelsea star could have a huge season. It could be Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi or Kai Havertz.

We know that Chelsea have signed players with enviable quality and technical brilliance. Ziyech, who was the prince of Amsterdam at Ajax, came to Chelsea on the back of a serious injury in the summer of 2020. Speaking about his struggles last season, Ziyech said:

"Before I came I had been out for seven months mostly. I came here and started with injuries, so for me it was more that I was already behind everybody physically."

This summer, Ziyech has already scored two against Spurs and three against Peterborough in a behind-closed-doors fixture earlier this month. It finally looks like the Moroccan is ready to fire on all cylinders. He looks to have found his sharpness, rhythm, range of passing and the sweetness in his venomous strikes.

A far more mature winger than many others in the Chelsea squad in terms of age and experience, Ziyech could be the go-to man for Tuchel this term.

So much class in that left foot 🪄Will this be Hakim Ziyech's season at Chelsea? 🔵 pic.twitter.com/n2HPb5kfmB

— Goal (@goal) August 4, 2021