Preseason games are rarely a reliable guide to a team's prospects for the campaign ahead, but Thomas Tuchel's concerns about Chelsea's readiness for the new Premier League season are. The alarm bells which started ringing six months ago are only getting louder.
Chelsea's 4-0 defeat against London rivals Arsenal in Orlando on Saturday, which prompted Tuchel to give a blunt assessment of his squad's shortcomings, will have no bearing on whether the reigning Club World Cup champions are able to deliver silverware this season.
If Chelsea succeed or fail, it will be down to how they overcome the upheaval that has seen the club's ownership change for the first time in 19 years, with the Roman Abramovich era coming to an end and a consortium led by L.