Chelsea pre-season report: Who has impressed for the Blues? What have we learned ahead of 2025-26 campaign?

Chelsea played a significantly shorter pre-season schedule ahead of the 2025-26 Premier League season due to their involvement in the Club World Cup throughout June and July.

The Blues, who lifted the trophy with a 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the final, only took part in two friendly fixtures ahead of their top-flight opener against Crystal Palace on August 17.

Enzo Maresca’s side returned to Stamford Bridge for the first time since May as they kicked off their pre-season with a 2-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen on August 8, before facing AC Milan on August 10.

Up against the Rossoneri on Sunday, Chelsea instilled positivity from start to finish, showcasing their trophies from earlier this year before thrashing the Serie A giants 4-1.

Here, Sports Mole looks at the key takeaways from Chelsea’s pre-season campaign.

Estevao a standout for Chelsea once again

It is still very early days in both Estevao’s career and his time at Chelsea, but the 18-year-old sensation demonstrated why the Blues spent such a significant sum on the youngster with a superb performance on his debut against Bayer Leverkusen.

Estevao was particularly lively in the first 45 minutes of that clash, with the Blues consistently feeding the ball to the right winger as he appeared to be their biggest attacking threat, an idea borne out by the fact that he scored the opening goal.

On Sunday against Milan, the 18-year-old star was brought on at the hour mark, setting up behind fellow substitute Liam Delap with Cole Palmer making way.

He may have only been on the pitch for half an hour, but Estevao managed to create two chances for his teammates and even won a penalty within his first few minutes that Delap converted to make it 3-1.

The Brazilian has proven his capacity to play either out wide or in more central zones, and his ability to be the danger man from a variety of positions is sure to be an important weapon in Maresca's arsenal in 2025-26.

Does Joao Pedro make Chelsea Premier League title contenders?

Joao Pedro was fantastic at the Club World Cup and he continued his fine form back in England, scoring against both Leverkusen and Milan ahead of a return to top-flight action.

The former Brighton & Hove Albion man was on the scoresheet within eight minutes as he timed his run to perfection to get on the end of a pinpoint Pedro Neto cross.

Chelsea's new centre-forward also forced Rossoneri centre-back Andrei Coubis to bring him down when he was through on goal, leading to a red card for the defender.

In fact, Pedro was the most fouled player on the pitch, and his constant threat has seemed to tie the Blues' offence together, bringing focus to a frontline that is loaded with attacking talent capable of challenging for the Premier League title.