Firstly, to save anyone from reminding us:
- Yes, we know it’s only preseason.
- Yes, we know it’s only Perth Glory.
Done. Happy now? Good. Let’s continue.
The Maurizio Sarri era is up and running for Chelsea, who recorded a 1-0 preseason victory in Australia on Monday. Pedro scored the only goal of the game against Perth Glory, although the performance of new signing Jorginho certainly caught the eye for many Blues.
The Brazilian-born Italian international followed Sarri to Chelsea from Napoli last week, rejecting the advances of Manchester City.
Although his bow for Chelsea only lasted a mere 45 minutes, the 26-year-old left a real impression on his new club’s supporters – especially with the revelation of the statistics below.
Jorginho touched the ball 101 times and made 98 successful passes on his Chelsea debut.
He only played 45 minutes. pic.twitter.com/pHtlO4O6Nh
— Standard Sport (@standardsport) July 23, 2018
98 passes in the first 45 minutes of the game, many of which as first touches. Not bad going at all.
While it’s obvious that Jorginho and Chelsea will face sterner challenges in the weeks and months to come, it’s clear many are already excited about the impact he will have in his first season at Stamford Bridge.
Jorginho looks like he's been Chelsea's midfield general for a decade!
— Mark Worrall (@gate17marco) July 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/AlexGoldberg_/status/1021386711488761856
After two minutes, Jorginho has already made over 10 (mostly simple) passes…playmaker #cfc
— Simon Johnson (@SJohnsonSport) July 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/CFCMod/status/1021389403388882946
https://twitter.com/CarefreeDailyFC/status/1021362008455868417
https://twitter.com/PGCFC001/status/1021408973558374401
https://twitter.com/azizk47/status/1021408491192406016
Chelsea are next in action against Inter Milan in Nice on Saturday, playing Arsenal in Dublin the following Wednesday. They will face Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley on August 5. They will then host Lyon for a friendly two days later before beginning their Premier League campaign away at Huddersfield Town on August 11.
