Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas pleased with pre-season progress

The Blues warmed up with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Hong Kong side Kitchee to set up an encounter with Aston Villa in the Asia Trophy final, and the manager is pleased with his players’ efforts this summer.

“Yeah, I think preparation is on track, it’s four games in 15 days for us,” Villas-Boas told Sky Sports.“Three have gone by and we play this final tomorrow sic against Aston Villa so it gives us also the first taste of Premier League opposition, which is always good.”

A Frank Lampard penalty put Villas-Boas’ men in the lead, and was followed by a second-half own goal, a Didier Drogba tap-in, and fine finish from Daniel Sturridge to put the game beyond doubt.

“Let’s continue to build on what we do in training, to see the performance of the players and their commitment and compromise at the moment has been magnificent,“ Villas-Boas added.

“This intensity in the game and the concentration is always a good thing for us and a good signal. Hopefully we can continue to build our preparations for the Stoke game.”