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Joao Pedro is also emerging as Chelsea’s standout player, while a frantic finish to the summer transfer window is expected.

Whether Chelsea are good, bad, or, more often than not, simply chaotic, they are very rarely boring.

The final pre-season fixture is not usually the most gripping occasion. By this stage, players are fit enough to remove some of the unpredictability seen earlier in the summer, but the focus is still firmly on the new campaign that is about to begin.

That was largely the pattern here against Real Sociedad. Chelsea went in front through Morgan Rogers, then drifted through the remainder of the first half and allowed themselves to be pulled back level.

Xabi Alonso, taking charge of the Blues at Stamford Bridge for the first time, would have been more pleased with the second-half display as his side raised the tempo and Joao Pedro struck twice to secure a 3-1 victory for the hosts.

Even so, much of that felt secondary to the battle in the stands, where Chelsea supporters competed to make themselves heard over a player who ended the evening wearing the captain’s armband.

Almost more compelling than the match itself was the Enzo Fernandez storyline, which had started well before kick-off.

Fernandez rejoined the Chelsea squad this week and was named among the substitutes after the Blues’ Friday deadline for interested clubs to make a bid for him passed without any offers arriving.

Whether because of the uncertainty surrounding his future, his behaviour at the World Cup with Argentina, or a mix of both, Fernandez prompted an extraordinarily split reaction at Stamford Bridge.

More telling, though, was what unfolded when he was introduced shortly after the hour mark and took over the captain’s armband.

There were loud boos as he came on and again each time he touched the ball over the next few minutes. At the same time, plenty inside the ground tried to drown that out by chanting Fernandez’s name.

As that tug-of-war in the stands continued, Fernandez headed just over from a corner. Had that gone in, Stamford Bridge might well have erupted completely.

The drinks break five minutes later brought a degree of calm. Once play restarted, there was no significant reaction whenever Fernandez was on the ball.

Fernandez is likely to face a hostile reception around the country this season. Chelsea will not want him receiving one at Stamford Bridge too.

Joao Pedro takes over from Cole Palmer

It was towards the end of the 2023-24 season that Mauricio Pochettino urged his Chelsea players to embrace the challenge of performing without Cole Palmer, who was then struggling with illness.

Pochettino said: "If I am a team-mate of Cole Palmer in his position or a similar position, I am going to be motivated to go there tomorrow and show this is Chelsea Football Club, not Cole Palmer Football Club.”

That now feels a long way in the past, with Joao Pedro very much looking like the current talisman in this Chelsea side.

There had been hope that a summer break for Palmer would help restore him to his best after a disappointing season, but he was quiet once again in this game.

By contrast, Joao Pedro was excellent. His two goals took his summer tally to eight in seven matches, including Chelsea’s behind-closed-doors friendly.

The Brazilian might easily have completed a hat-trick, with his header well saved but falling kindly for Rogers to convert from close range for Chelsea’s opener.

Rogers and Joao Pedro already appear to be building an encouraging partnership. They linked up well, and Rogers twice fizzed balls across the face of goal that his striker was just unable to reach.

There is real optimism about what Chelsea can achieve this season, and Joao Pedro, in this sort of form, will be central to it.

Chelsea braced for a hectic end to the window

The team sheet served as another reminder of how much business Chelsea still need to do before the transfer window closes.

The Blues had 13 players on the bench, and even then a large number of first-team players were still not included in the squad.

Mykahilo Mudryk, Liam Delap, Tosin Adarabioyo, Nicolas Jackson and Mamadou Sarr were all omitted as Chelsea try to secure moves for them this summer.

Pedro Neto, who started on the right at wing-back, could also still depart over the next two and a half weeks.

Further proof of the scale of Chelsea’s squad came from a look at those seated in the row behind the substitutes.

Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson were there alongside Aaron Anselmino and Emmanuel Emegha, with none of those four making the 24-man matchday squad.

Another transfer window, and another struggle for Chelsea to reduce their numbers to a manageable level.