Chelsea star delighted with fitness progress

Chelsea star Branislav Ivanovic is delighted to have put 90 minutes under his belt, despite defeat to the MLS All-Stars in a pre-season friendly.

The Serbian was the first member of the squad to complete a full game but the Blues were beaten 3-2 after a late goal from Eddie Johnson.

“It was a good challenge to play 90 minutes to see what is our level at this moment,” Ivanovic said.

“This is very important for this period of the pre-season, to know how your fitness is.

“I was the first player to play a whole game because I started the pre-season from the beginning and the other guys train for a less period than me now.

“It was a good opportunity to play 90 minutes and the game was quite high intensity which we are looking for at this moment.”