Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali was present for the Blues’ 2-1 loss against Real Madrid earlier.
It was Chelsea‘s third defeat of pre-season, with Enzo Maresca‘s men previously losing 4-2 to Manchester City and 4-1 to Celtic.
They are not the kind of results Behdad Eghbali will want to see once the 2024/25 campaign starts, but it is possible if the Blues do not fix their defense.
Maresca has admitted it’s a problem for Chelsea right now and has been since last season when Mauricio Pochettino was still in charge of the club.
Chelsea’s first game of the new Premier League campaign is against City, so some supporters will be feeling worried.
Behdad Eghbali and Florentino Perez’s half-time exchange
Real Madrid were Chelsea’s final fixture of their pre-season tour of the United States, and Eghbali left it with something.
While Chelsea were unable to leave with the win, Eghbali was at least able to take a small gift away from the match.
Real Madrid’s official website shared that club president Florentino Perez handed Eghbali a small replica of the Bank of America Stadium, where the European champions and Chelsea faced off, as the two exchanged gifts at half-time.
The Blues will be hoping to play against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu again, though they will have to wait until next season at the earliest after failing to qualify for this term’s Champions League.
Instead, Maresca and his men will be playing in the Conference League. Jose Mourinho rates the Conference League highly, but Chelsea will want to be competing at a much higher level going forward.