Chelsea’s pre-season draw with Borussia Dortmund came at a cost when summer signing Christopher Nkunku was forced off with an injury in Chicago.
The Frenchman linked up with Nicolas Jackson well in the opening stages for the Blues, who once again started positively under Mauricio Pochettino.
Nkunku, however, could not recover from a tackle in the opening stages and hobbled off in the 22nd minute.
The game was played on a dreadful pitch at Soccer Field in the Windy City and both teams struggled to convince in the final third.
On a cabbage patch of a pitch, Chelsea lost Christopher Nkunku to injury and almost stumbled for the first time under Mauricio Pochettino before summoning the resolve to emerge from pre-season unbeaten after Mason Burstow denied Borussia Dortmund victory with a last-minute equaliser.
The desire to fight back after Marius Wolf’s undeserved opener for Dortmund will have pleased Pochettino, although his mood is unlikely to have been helped by the state of the playing surface at Soldier Field. The damage had been caused by the stadium hosting an Ed Sheeran concert last weekend and it was hard not to suspect that the state of it played a part in Nkunku hurting his left knee during the first half.
The Blues have won three out of their last four friendly fixtures. Mauricio Pochettino's team looked good out on the pitch and will be looking to end the pre-season series on a high. Dortmund are unbeaten since their defeat to RB Leipzig in April. They have won all their last five pre-season friendlies which includes a 3-2 win over Manchester United in their most recent outing.
The west London side are undefeated so far this summer and will hope to continue that run against a Dortmund side who have defeated Manchester United and San Diego Loyal SC in their time in the US, while also having a 100% record in the friendlies in Germany too. Someone will have to come unstuck.
Under pressure, Chelsea responded. With time ticking away, they levelled when Dortmund failed to clear a free-kick. Fernández headed the ball back into the six-yard box and Burstow, on as a substitute, punished diffident defending by glancing past Mayer.
There was time for Fernández to threaten with a late drive. Chelsea could not find a second and the question now is whether they respond to Nkunku’s injury by looking for a new striker. Perhaps the prospect of sending Romelu Lukaku to Juventus in exchange for Dusan Vlahovic has increased.
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