PIAZON: A SPECIAL FEELING

A first goal in his second senior Chelsea appearance made it an evening to remember at Yankee Stadium for Lucas Piazon.

The 18-year-old Brazilian converted with 10 minutes remaining, exchanging passes with Ramires and poking home to earn us a 1-1 draw against Paris St-Germain in New York, after coming on as a substitute on the hour.

Speaking afterwards he struggled to contain his delight. 'It was good for me, it was special, to score in my second game,' said the forward. 'The debut in Seattle was special too but this one was even more so I am very happy.

'It was a nice goal, made in Brazil! Rami and me try to do this in training so it was really good to achieve it.'

Piazon has fitted well into first-team surroundings, having trained with the senior players at Cobham, and appears unfazed by the attention that a Chelsea tour brings. He believes having many familiar faces around him has helped.

'It is good to have people around me, friends from Brazil and youngsters from the youth team, so I feel fine and it's a very nice trip for me,' he said.

'On the pitch it is another level, it is really hard but I know that with time when you play and play and play things get better and step by step you grow as a player, so we will see what will happen.'

In the short term however, he will not be dwelling on his achievement, instead focusing on obtaining more match fitness before the start of the competitive campaign.

'I just played 30 minutes on Sunday and sometimes I was blowing, so the fitness is still coming,' he admitted. 'I need more, but maybe in one or two more games and with some training I will be ready for the season.'

It is an honest assessment from the talented youngster, yet so far all the promise is there that it could be a very good year.