A childhood Chelsea supporter, Umair Ghansar, watched the Blues live for the first time as we took on Western Sydney Wanderers during our pre-season tour. Here, he details what the experience meant to him...
I've experienced so many incredible moments watching Chelsea through a television screen. So, to finally watch us play live was quite surreal.
It was everything I hoped it would be – and something of a full-circle moment as a childhood supporter. It shows how special these tours are and how much the club means to fans around the world.
Before the game against Western Sydney Wanderers, a big group of Chelsea supporters, local Sydney fans, and those from the supporters’ group came together. The atmosphere was brilliant.
There were fans in shirts from all different eras, with different names and numbers on the backs, and we all came together to talk about the season ahead and sing our chants. There was real excitement.
Then we went into the stadium; it was when the players walked out that it properly hit me. Hopefully, one day, I’ll get to live the same experience at Stamford Bridge.
The game itself against Western Sydney Wanderers was absolute chaos – but in the best possible way. You certainly don’t see ten goals scored in a game often!
It was just pure entertainment, with lots of momentum swings. That we came away with the win just made it brilliant. I loved seeing some of the younger players and, obviously, Joao Pedro stood out with the hat-trick and assist, and I thought Jamie Gittens had a good impact.
Full credit to the younger players, too. They were all good; it is clear there is a lot of good work going on behind the scenes in the Academy.
Watching the intensity of the game up close, it's just completely different from watching on television – and after the game I was just buzzing that I’d had the opportunity to experience this.
The game against West Sydney was fantastic, but today we’ve got Tottenham and that never really feels like a friendly, does it? I think there'll be more of an edge to it from both sides – and both sets of fans.
Even in pre-season, I’m hoping for a Chelsea victory. Hopefully, less stressful than the 6-4, but I'll take any win against Spurs.