Result Revealed: Chelsea Suffer Defeat In Portsmouth Friendly As Defensive Woes Continue

Chelsea are preparing for a five-game schedule in October.

Chelsea fell to defeat to Championship side Portsmouth in a friendly during the international break at their Cobham training base.

Xabi Alonso's side have returned to Cobham to begin preparations for their Premier League return on October 10 when they face AFC Bournemouth, the first of a five-game schedule this month.

Whilst many players are on international duty, Alonso has the likes of Levi Colwill, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Marco Palestra, Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck to work with.

It remains unclear whether Reece James, Moises Caicedo or Joao Pedro have begun training after their injury absences. Likewise with Cole Palmer, who withdrew from the England squad.

Given the extended break, Chelsea organised a behind-closed-doors friendly against Portsmouth on Saturday to get some match minutes ahead of Bournemouth's visit to the capital next weekend.

Unfortunately for Chelsea, Alonso's side suffered a 2-0 defeat to John Mousinho's Pompey side, as reported by the Portsmouth News.

It remains unclear who featured for Chelsea, with it likely that there was a mixture of first-team and academy players given the international commitments.

Despite it being a friendly and unclear who played, more goals conceded is still alarming for Chelsea.

Alonso's side have yet to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League this season. The only game they have not conceded in was against Luton Town, a League One side, in the Carabao Cup.

Chelsea cannot afford to keep conceding goals, and whilst a friendly can't be read into too much, it continues the uneasiness heading into the Bournemouth fixture on October 10.

Without a win since August in the league, Chelsea are needing confidence and it may continue to show that they are reliant on their star players - like any team would - in order to be able to bounce back.

It could prove that the decision for Palmer to withdraw from England to ensure he is fit to face Bournemouth is an even wiser decision than initially thought.

Portsmouth are currently 19th in the Championship and have two wins to their name from seven league matches. Not scoring will disappoint Chelsea, let alone losing the fixture.

Chelsea's next opponents, Bournemouth, are still without a league win. It offers the Blues a chance to end their three-game winless streak in the league and avoid being charitable to the Cherries by letting them get their first win on the board.