Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro rested for Chelsea friendly at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium

Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro were rested for Chelsea's pre-season friendly against Johor Darul Ta'zim at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, which took place the day after Chelsea beat AC Milan 3-0 on Saturday.

Johor Darul Ta'zim are the Malaysian Super League champions. Chelsea conceded six goals across their first three pre-season matches but kept a clean sheet against AC Milan in the 3-0 victory. They finished 10th in the English top division last season and will not play European football this season, and they will still have a chance to secure the domestic treble. Xabi Alonso still has some issues to figure.

Both Palmer and Joao Pedro had played more than 80 minutes against AC Milan, which influenced the decision to rest them for the match against the Malaysian club the following day.

Xabi Alonso said, “We wanted to have a logical progression in their loads, so we had our plan and we’ve stuck to that. We have another idea [against Johor]; that was decided yesterday (Friday). The idea is that many young players were coming to have chances to play tomorrow.”

Dario Essugo donned the captain’s armband for Chelsea, with Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli playing an important role in midfield instead of Cole Palmer. Liam Delap and Nicolas Jackson were deployed in a two-striker setup, replacing Joao Pedro.

Chelsea will face Fulham on August 24.