Ajax

A flying visit to Amsterdam was second on Chelsea’s pre-season agenda, with the itinerary surrounding Friday’s match with Ajax demanding a twelve-hour round trip. The mood in the camp on the flight home may be a rather damp one after Carlo Ancelotti’s boys (and they were boys) fell to a 3-1 defeat against their Champions League opponents. An own goal from Jeffrey Bruma put the hosts ahead in the sixth…

Brazilian defender Alex has been ruled out for up to a month after a thigh injury suffered in training this week. He joins Petr Cech on the sidelines with both likely to miss the rest of the pre-season campaign. Hilario is expected to step up in his absence in the match against Ajax on Friday, with Turnbull getting the second half, but other than the loss of Alex, the squad…