A cool breeze and grey skies again greeted Enzo Maresca and his players at our training base on the bank of the River Delaware. But the heat of the summer will be felt in Atlanta, which the Blues will travel to later today ahead of our tournament opener.

Tomorrow's meeting with LAFC will be the first in our history, and the new experiences and challenges the Club World Cup will provide are something that excites the Chelsea head coach.

'I feel proud [to lead Chelsea into the Club World Cup]. It is the first and everything is new for us. So we must adapt as quickly as possible to make sure we are ready.

'At this moment [in the year], the players are normally away enjoying their holiday and recovering energy. That is not the case because we are here to try to win. We can rest after the Club World Cup!’

Among those involved in today's session were summer recruits Mamadou Sarr, Dario Essugo and Liam Delap, and returning loanees Gaga Slonina, Mike Penders and Andrey Santos.

‘New faces, good players, and a new energy,' the Italian says. 'I know Liam well from my time at Manchester City, we worked together really well for one year.

'I know Andrey Santos from pre-season last summer, as we worked a little bit together, and he had a fantastic season at Strasbourg, Mamadou Sarr, exactly the same.

'Dario Essugo, I have a good feeling about him, and he is working well with us. And Mike Penders is also another talented player.'

After today's session, the players returned briefly to the team hotel before our journey to Atlanta was undertaken.

Our Club World Cup opener kicks off at 3pm EDT – 8pm BST – and we will have full coverage across the Chelsea Official App and the official Chelsea website.

Chelsea's opening game against LAFC kicks off at 8pm UK time on Monday. You can watch that and every other game at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 live for free by signing up with DAZN here.