Chelsea 3-1 Real Sociedad: Morgan Rogers scores on debut as Blues win final summer friendly

Joao Pedro also maintains red-hot pre-season form with a second half brace

Morgan Rogers marked his Chelsea debut with a goal, but it was Joao Pedro who ultimately fired the Blues to victory over Real Sociedad in their final pre-season friendly.

Enzo Fernandez, initially booed, was then given a mixed reaction on his return to action, less than 24 hours after the deadline for a potential summer transfer passed, while Xabi Alonso handed minutes to a number of his summer signings.

Rogers, late to start his Chelsea career after his record-breaking £116million move from Aston Villa last month because of the World Cup, wasted no time in opening his account for his new club.

After Joao Pedro’s header had been parried by Alex Remiro, Rogers was on hand for a simple tap-in, putting the Blues ahead inside the opening 11 minutes.

Chelsea weren’t able to build on their early dominance and were grateful to Robert Sanchez for making two excellent stops to preserve the lead, though the Spaniard could do nothing about Jon Aramburu’s equaliser.

The Sociedad defender caught the ball sweetly to volley in a wonderful strike right on the stroke of half-time.

Within a couple of minutes of the restart, the hosts were back in front as Reece James was afforded too much time and space on the edge of the box, he picked out Joao Pedro at the back post and the Brazilian produced a powerful header to give Remiro no chance.

A raft of changes soon followed, including the introduction of Fernandez, but Joao Pedro made sure of the result when he latched onto Malo Gusto’s through ball and slotted home after some questionable goalkeeping from Remiro.

There was still time for Pep Chavarria to receive a warm welcome on his Chelsea debut as attentions turn to the start of the Premier League season, a week on Monday away at west London rivals Fulham.