With players
starting to tire, Chelsea brought on Michu Batshuayi, Moses and Pedro for
Costa, Hazard ad Willian. Just after making these changes, John Terry worringly
limped off for the Blues, only to be replaced by Michael Hector.
Antonio
Conte named a strong side and they needed just a matter of minutes to open the
scoring when Hazard worked a short corner well before cutting inside and
lashing an effort into the bottom corner of the net.
The
Bundesliga side were all at sea at the back and Oscar exchanged passes with
Diego Costa to create a yard of space before slotting home to double the Blues'
advantage with just 10 minutes on the clock.
But the
hosts soon came back into the game as Zlatko Junuzovic rattled the crossbar
courtesy of a long-range strike and Sambou Yatabare fired wide after Willian's
loose pass.
Costa had
two chances in quick succession which Bremen did brilliantly well to deflect
away to safety and, just minutes after the Blues should have been out of sight,
Bremen got back into the game when Nemanja Matic felled Junuzovic inside the
penalty area.
Former
Chelsea striker Claudio Pizarro made no mistake from 12 yards and sent Thibaut
Courtois the wrong way but Costa restored his side's two-goal cushion on the
stroke of half time as he finished with aplomb after yet more impressive build
up play by Hazard.
Matic made
way for Cesc Fabregas at the break but Hazard continued to orchestrate the
Blues' forward play. Bremen could not cope with the Belgian's direct runs and
he laid another chance on a plate for Costa, but the striker poked an effort
just wide of the target.
Lapses in
concentration continued to plague Chelsea and Courtois was beaten for the
second time when Lennart Thy fizzed an effort into the bottom corner from the
edge of the penalty area.
For a man
who prides himself on defensive solidity Conte will be keen to right such
wrongs in the final week of training before Chelsea open their Premier League
campaign against West Ham.
Pedro added
gloss to the scoreline when he fired in at the death but, despite the positive
outlook that has been ushered in by Conte's arrival, there is still plenty of
work to be done.
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