The Blues narrowly avoided a historically embarrassing defeat in a 2-2 draw at Qarabag where manager Enzo Maresca's rotation was questioned.

The Blues had just 26 days off between the Club World Cup final and their first pre-season outing. The truncated off-season has led to an apparent increase in long-term injuries, with Levi Colwill, Liam Delap, and Dario Essugo all spending months on the sidelines.

Chelsea have made UEFA aware of alleged racist abuse directed at “a number” of the club’s players during Wednesday’s Youth League meeting with Qarabağ in Azerbaijan.

Chelsea have made seven changes or more for the past five matches in a row across all competitions. They have now made 85 changes to their starting XIs this season – the most of any Premier League side – across their 16 games.

What do these accounts tells us about the funds from the sale? What has caused the delay? The Athletic explains

A stunning 3–2 victory over Benfica saw them recover from conceding twice in the opening 16 minutes to collect their first ever Champions League win outside of qualifying, even costing Bruno Lage his job in Lisbon. They followed up an almighty scalp with victory over Copenhagen, who struggled during their trek to Baku.

Kochalski, Silva, Medina, Mustafazade, Jafarguliyev, Jankovic, Kady, Pedro Bicalho, Zoubir, Leandro Andrade, Duran. Chelsea have rotated heavily for this Champions League game in Kazakhstan, drafting in exciting teenagers Estevao Willian,

Defying his age yet again, the Brazil international took risks and played with an unpredictability all evening in Baku, scoring the opening goal of the game by collecting from compatriot Andrey Santos, cutting onto his left and, while falling to the turf, firing low into the near corner.