Pre-season round-up: Jose Mourinho on warpath after Chelsea loss; Radamel Falcao sinks Arsenal

JOSE Mourinho was at his loquacious best as Chelsea slumped to their first pre-season defeat while a Radamel Falcao strike sunk Arsenal.

Chelsea's coach Jose Mourinho leaves after the preseason soccer match between SV Werder Bremen and FC Chelsea in Bremen, Germany, Sunday Aug. 3, 2014. Bremen won by 3-0. (AP Photo/dpa, Carmen Jaspersen)

CHELSEA slumped to their first pre-season defeat as they were beaten 3-0 by Werder Bremen in Germany to spoil the return of Didier Drogba and the debut of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Meanwhile, Radamel Falcao has scored his first goal since a six-month injury lay-off to earn Monaco a 1-0 win over Arsenal in the Emirates Cup friendly tournament.

Arsenal, who beat Benfica 5-1 the previous day, were lethargic and never really threatened to get back in the game. Manager Arsene Wenger though was ‘not especially concerned.’

But it was the result in Bremen that raised most eyebrows.

Ivory Coast legend Drogba made his first appearance for Chelsea since scoring the penalty that won the 2012 Champions League in Munich when he came on as a second-half substitute for summer signing Diego Costa.

Not even Eden Hazard could inspire Chelsea in Germany.

However, Jose Mourinho’s side were already 2-0 down at that point and Drogba’s return ended in a tame defeat at the Weserstadion.

“They are the best team we’ve faced in this period,” said Mourinho.

“We knew they were in a more advanced stage of pre-season so we were expecting a competitive, intense game.”

Blues captain John Terry conceded a soft penalty after 20 minutes when he needlessly blocked the ball with his arm and Dutch winger Eljero Elia stepped up to plant his spot-kick past Belgian goalkeeper Courtois, who has joined up with Chelsea after a long-term loan at Atletico Madrid.

It got worse for the visitors 17 minutes later when Terry was again implicated as Polish winger Ludovic Obraniak darted past the static centre-half to glance a header past Courtois.

“We came here and the referee thought it was a circus for Bremen fans to have fun and he killed the match,” Mourinho said.

“I like their team, they are fast, defend with a lot of players, they are physical. It was the perfect opponent but we didn’t play.”

Mourinho made several changes at the break, including the introductions of Drogba and Branislav Ivanovic, while Eden Hazard entered the fray in the second half.

It wasn’t a good afternoon for Petr Cech.

Bremen won a second penalty in the last minute when Dutch defender Nathan Ake was punished for what appeared to be a fair challenge but it didn’t matter to Felix Kroos, who stroked the ball past substitute goalkeeper Petr Cech.

“Every duel and free-kick went against us, the penalties, especially the last one, were nonsense. Being aggressive with Ake, an 18-year-old, was disappointing. We wanted to train but the referee didn’t let us have a good session,” said Mourinho.

The Portuguese also said many of his players including Courtois are well short of match fitness and preparation following the World Cup.

“Courtois is the same as the others, two days training and playing today for 45 minutes, he needs to play, we don’t have lots of time. It’s only two weeks until the start of the season so we gave him and Petr (Cech) 45 minutes each.

“He made a fantastic save from Di Santo, with the other goal he had no chance, but that save was fantastic.”

Chelsea, who had previously registered four wins and a draw in pre-season, continue their preparations with a game against Hungarian side Ferencvaros next weekend.

Radamel Falcao celebrates his goal against Arsenal.

In London, Falcao striker netted with a powerful first-half header to give Monaco victory in their final pre-season friendly before they open their Ligue 1 campaign at home to Lorient next weekend.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger handed a full debut to Alexis Sanchez, but the Chilean was eclipsed by Falcao, who missed the World Cup after damaging knee ligaments in January.

“I’m very happy with his return and very satisfied that he scored a goal that gave us the win,” said Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim on Falcao, who has been strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid.

“Obviously I’m counting on him. In football anything is possible, especially in the transfer window, but we want to keep our best players, of course.”

Monaco’s win handed victory in the four-team tournament to Valencia, who beat Benfica 3-1 earlier in the day.

Arsenal tackle Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley next weekend, before kicking off the Premier League season at home to Crystal Palace on August 16.

“As much as our performance was sharp, creative, dynamic, and mobile yesterday, today it was static, lethargic, and not convincing at all,” said Wenger, whose side had crushed Benfica 5-1.

“We lost because we deserved to lose. But I’m not especially concerned.”

Sanchez lined up in front of debutant Mathieu Debuchy on Arsenal’s right flank, with fellow new signing Calum Chambers again deployed at centre-back, while Falcao made his first start since his injury.

Originally published as Pre-season round-up: Jose Mourinho on warpath after Chelsea loss; Radamel Falcao sinks Arsenal