Chelsea’s first pre-season game in Japan against Kawasaki ended in defeat, after the Blues conceding a surprise late winner.
Sporting their new white away kit, Frank Lampard named a strong starting line-up, and as expected, made plenty of changes throughout against the reigning J-League champions.
Kurt Zouma and Mason Mount, two players who spent the campaign out on loan last season, both started for the Blues, with Michy Batshuayi getting the nod to lead the line.
The Blues had plenty of chances to take the lead throughout, however, a breakthrough unfortunately never materialised for Lampard’s side.
And with the game seemingly edging towards a stalemate, Brazilian forward Leandro Damiao powered his way into the box and fired past Chelsea keeper Willy Caballero to give the Japanese side a shock lead.
There were plenty of talking points to take away from the opening fixture in Japan, so we’ve decided to put together four findings Lampard can take from the disappointing defeat.
