Chelsea pre-season friendly against Johor Darul Ta'zim ends in chaos as penalty shootout is scrapped

Chelsea's pre-season friendly against Johor Darul Ta'zim in Malaysia descended into chaos after a fiery encounter ended in a 3-3 draw. The Malaysian outfit took an early lead through Arif Aiman Hanapi before a quickfire brace of penalties from Liam Delap turned the game on its head, only for Oscar Arribas and Bergson to restore JDT's advantage. Antonio Cristian's late own goal saved Chelsea from defeat, but the drama escalated when the anticipated penalty shootout was unilaterally scrapped.

Spectators inside the stadium were left bewildered when both teams immediately headed for the tunnel, despite an agreement that a shootout would settle the match in the event of a draw.

Upon seeing the opposition and match officials walk off the pitch, Chelsea's head of first-team operations, Kevin Campello, was seen locked in a heated touchline argument, shouting to the referee: "It's written in the contract."

Despite fierce protests from the Blues' operational staff, the decision stood firm, and the match was officially brought to an abrupt close without a winner.

The bad-tempered fixture saw Johor Darul Ta'zim extend an unbeaten run stretching back to April 2021, but the draw came at a heavy cost for Chelsea. Mamadou Sarr was forced to pull out during the warm-up despite being named in the starting line-up, while defender Aaron Anselmino was reduced to tears as he was forced off in the 29th minute. This double injury blow-in defence casts a shadow over Xabi Alonso's pre-season tour ahead of their return to Europe.

Chelsea must now swiftly refocus as they fly back to Europe for their final pre-season test against Real Sociedad on Saturday. Alonso faces the urgent task of fixing a fragile backline while assessing the fitness of Sarr and Anselmino ahead of the new campaign. Their upcoming Premier League opener against Fulham will serve as a stern test of the West Londoners' tactical preparation and squad depth.