Chelsea have started their pre-season campaign with a 1-0 victory over the Singha All Star XI.
The match marked Jose Mourinho's first match in charge since his return to Stamford Bridge, and he would have been encouraged with the performance from his team.
After a dominant opening 30 minutes, Chelsea netted the decisive goal from Romelu Lukaku, who scored from the penalty spot after Wallace had been brought down.
The Blues continued to outplay the Thai-based team during the second half, but they were unable to add to their tally.
Read below to see how the action unfolded in Bangkok.
Hello, and welcome to Sports Mole's coverage of the friendly between Singha All Star XI and Chelsea.
Ever since Jose Mourinho returned to Stamford Bridge, excitement has built for his first game back in the dugout, and while this may only be a pre-season friendly, all eyes will be on the Blues to see if Mourinho has already tinkered with the system that Chelsea employed last season.
Chelsea announced both their first-half and second-half lineups yesterday, so we will bring you them in full in the next few minutes.
CHELSEA FIRST-HALF XI: Cech; Wallace, Kalas, Terry, Cole; Lamps, Essien; Piazon, De Bruyne, Schurrle; Lukaku
While there are many notable names in that lineup, there are a couple of players who won't be so familiar to many, including Wallace and Tomas Kalas. More info on them coming up.
Wallace is a full-back who Chelsea signed from Fluminense in December 2012. He was immediately loaned back to the Brazilian side, but the 19-year-old is now ready to stake a claim for his place in Chelsea's senior squad.
Tomas Kalas is a Czech Republic international who has spent the past two seasons on loan at Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem, making 58 appearances. The 20-year-old will slot in next to John Terry in the centre of Chelsea's defence.
The rest of Chelsea's travelling party are on the bench, but Josh McEachran and Mark Schwarzer will not be involved this evening. Also absent for the Blues are David Luiz, Oscar, Juan Mata and Fernando Torres, who were all involved in the Confederations Cup in June.
I will bring you a reminder at half time about Chelsea's second half XI, but here it is for those who are interested now.
CHELSEA SECOND-HALF XI: Blackman; Bertrand, Chalobah, Cahill, Ivanovic; Ramires, Van Ginkel, Moses, Hazard, De Bruyne; Ba
Despite Schwarzer's absence, Chelsea fans will still get to see fellow new signings Marco van Ginkel and Andre Schurrle for the first time. Both arrive in England with a growing reputation, so eyes are sure to be on them to see how they perform.
Other notable players on show in Thailand today include Belgian duo Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne. Both are returning from season-long loan spells, with the pair stating a desire to establish themselves at the Europa League winners next season. Lukaku is well-known in England, but De Bruyne might fee the extra pressure to show the club's supporters what he is capable of.
As for the Singha All Star XI, they stunned Manchester United at the weekend by emerging from their friendly with a 1-0 victory. That result alone suggests that Chelsea might not have it all their own way.
We are less than 10 minutes away from kickoff in Bangkok. For those interested in the Singha All Star XI lineup, here it is.
SINGHA ALL STAR XI: Klanklin; Punrit, Puttan, Kasonga, Kaimbi; Viwatchaichok, Wiriya-Udomsiri, Puanakunmee, Shimoji, Silva; Subara
Chelsea songs are beaming out of the tannoy at the Rajamangala National Stadium. I thought that Chelsea were supposed to be the away side?
The players have yet to make their way out onto the pitch in Thailand just yet, so we might be a few minutes late in getting underway.
PREDICTION! The players of the Singha All Star XI are currently midway through their season in Thailand, so they might be fitter than Chelsea, but I would expect Chelsea's quality to come through, winning 2-1 or 3-1.
Still no sign of the two sides. Hopefully it won't be too long...
We are underway in Bangkok.
Quick change with the Chelsea lineup that I brought you earlier. Frank Lampard has been replaced by Ramires. No reason has been given for the alteration.
Not too much is happening at the moment. Chelsea are spraying the ball around the pitch, but they haven't come close to creating an opening thus far.
That's better from Chelsea. Lukaku linked up well with Schurrle, but Ramires couldn't connect with the German's cross to the back post.
Lucas Piazon has seen a lot of the ball so far, and he nearly combined well with Brazilian compatriot Wallace, but the full-back could only volley his shot skywards, with the ball landing before the six-yard box.
Singha All Star XI have been camped in their own half for much of the opening exchanges, but after forcing a couple of throw-ins deep in Chelsea's half, the Blues clear. Very much a first pre-season friendly feel to the match so far.
Schurrle has looked lively, but he made the wrong decision there. He created some space for himself in the penalty area, but he opted to over-play the situation and he was soon dispossessed by a defender.
WOODWORK! A Chelsea free-kick is floated to the back post for Essien to head back across goal, but there is confusion between a defender and the goalkeeper, with the ball rebounding off the crossbar. From the resulting corner, Ramires heads the ball just wide.
Singha All Star XI are defending for their lives at the moment. There must be seven or eight players in the box attempting to block shots, and they manage to get the ball out for a corner, which is cleared.
SHOT! De Bruyne tries his luck from about 25 yards, but his shot is always rising and clears the crossbar. The Belgian has impressed so far.
The players are having a quick drinks break. That's probably wise given the searing heat in Thailand.
The action is beginning to quieten down a little as we approach the half hour mark, which I guess is to be expected.
The Singha All Star left-winger has tried to catch Cech out with a speculative effort from the touchline. It's fair to say it didn't quite come off...
SHOT! Lukaku gets into the action with a break down the right-hand side, but his shot is weak, and is deflected away for a corner by the goalkeeper.
PENALTY! Chelsea win a penalty after Wallace draws the foul in the penalty area. Looked a tad soft, but it was a penalty. Lukaku to step up...
GOAL! SINGHA ALL STAR XI 0-1 CHELSEA (Lukaku)
The Belgian striker confidently dispatches the penalty into the bottom corner, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way. Chelsea do something that Manchester United couldn't do in 90 minutes at the weekend...
Chelsea have deserved that goal. The opposition are poor, but you would think that Chelsea will kick-on now. The Thai side will want to get back into this game, but they could leave plenty of space at the back.
Singha All Star XI get their first corner of the match, and it causes trouble for Cech, but he manages to claim the ball at the second opportunity.
CHANCE! De Bruyne plays a delightful ball over the top of the defence for Lukaku to collect, but his half-volley is well saved by Klanklin. More promising moments for the former West Bromwich Albion loanee.
Free-kick for the Singha All Star XI on the left-hand side of the Chelsea penalty area. A teasing ball is delivered to the front post, which is headed out for a corner, but the following set-piece comes to nothing.
HALF TIME: SINGHA ALL STAR XI 0-1 CHELSEA
That opening 45 minutes wasn't the greatest period of football that you will ever see, but it was to be expected. Chelsea's build-up play was solid, but they lacked a cutting-edge in attack. But I'm sure that will come in time.
A couple of the new crop of players impressed for the Blues. Wallace looks like someone who could become a very decent right-back in the future. He could be good enough to act as back-up to Cesar Azpilicueta next season. Kevin de Bruyne also looked creative on the ball, and will surely make an impact at Stamford Bridge next season.
Chelsea have already revealed how they will line up in the second half. It is currently unknown whether Frank Lampard will take to the pitch, but this is the expected team.
CHELSEA SECOND HALF XI: Blackman; Bertrand, Chalobah, Cahill, Ivanovic; Ramires, Van Ginkel, Moses, Hazard, De Bruyne; Ba.
Branislav Ivanovic will skipper the Blues in the second 45 minutes.
It looks as though Ramires will stay out there, so I presume that we will not be seeing Frank Lampard.
We are underway for the second half. The home fans certainly like Eden Hazard!
Chelsea have began the second half on the front foot, but they can't find the final ball. You'd expect Chelsea to score a couple more during this 45 minutes.
CHANCE! Singha All Star XI have a corner, and they should be on level terms after one of their players connected with a header, but the ball went inches wide of the far post. Big opportunity.
That looks harsh, but Demba Ba has won a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area. De Bruyne plays a clever ball to Ba from the resulting kick, but the striker's shot from 12 yards goes just wide.
Victor Moses has had a quiet 10 minutes, but he comes to life with a bursting run into the penalty area. However, he scuffs his effort and the ball trickles into the goalkeeper's hands.
Ba is in the thick of the action, winning a free-kick 20 yards out. Plenty of candidates line-up to have an effort on goal, with Hazard seeing a driven shot well parried by Klanklin.
It surely won't be long until Chelsea double their lead?
CHANCE! It should be two. Hazard plays a delightful ball into the penalty area, and it looks as though Ivanovic only has to tap-in at the back post. However, the ball gets trapped under his boot, and Klanklin claims.
Apparently, this is supposed to be a stronger side that beat Manchester United. If that's the case, then United can't be firing on all cylinders right now. Chelsea have dominated this match.
CHANCE! Dear oh dear, how has he missed that?! Singha All Stars should be level. A free-kick was swung into the back post for Kasonga, but he headed wide from three yards.
De Bruyne and Ramires are still going strong for the Blues. I wouldn't expect them to feature much in Chelsea's next friendly after the work that they have gotten through today.
Chelsea have gone off the boil in the last 10 minutes. They are still trying to engineer a chance, but Singha All Stars are keeping it tight at the back. An interesting note I should have mentioned earlier is that the Chelsea player's name and number are in Thai, which looks very bizarre!
I think that we have probably broken the world record for the amount of fouls in a friendly fixture today. The referee is blowing his whistle for the slightest of contact.
De Bruyne is being withdrawn from the action for Bertrand Traore, but his last act during the game is to fire a 25-yard free-kick straight at Klanklin. The Belgian will be happy with how he has played on his return to the Blues.
Traore has moved to the left-wing, and he has already shown plenty of promise. Chelsea still can't get much going in the final third though, and they seem content to play the ball across their backline.
SHOT! The ball finds its way to Ba on the edge of the area, but his effort is almost out of frustration, and it rolls past the post from 20 yards. Less than five minutes to go in Bangkok.
SHOT! A Chelsea corner is played to the edge of the penalty area by Cahill, but Traore snatches at his 20-yard shot and it harmlessly clears the crossbar.
FULL TIME: SINGHA ALL STAR XI 0-1 CHELSEA
The referee decides not to add any time on in Bangkok, and Chelsea have got their pre-season campaign off to a winning start.
The Blues may have only scored once, which came from the penalty spot, but Jose Mourinho should be delighted with the performance of his side after they dominated their opponents.
Mourinho would have been impressed with the contributions of Wallace and Eden Hazard, while Kevin de Bruyne displayed enough to suggest that he can become an important part of Chelsea's squad this season.
That will be all from Sports Mole from this game. We will be bringing you many of the friendlies involving the top teams from England during the next few weeks, so we hope to see you again soon. Thank you for joining us. Goodbye for now.
Written by
Darren Plant
Darren Plant
