Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca blames Ohio Stadium pitch for Blues' defensive errors during pre-season defeat to Man City

The Blues' disastrous form continued in the pre-season as they went down for the third time in four matches in the United States on Saturday against Manchester City. Erling Haaland netted a hat-trick while Oscar Bobb found the back of the net once as the Cityzens outclassed the Blues 4-2.

After the game in Ohio, City boss Pep Guardiola claimed that the condition of the pitch at the Ohio Stadium was the reason the Blues committed too many defensive errors which allowed his team to capitalise and score four past them.

When the new Chelsea boss was asked about Guardiola's comments, he told Chelseafc.com, "Sometimes when we say something, it can sound like an excuse so I don’t want to say this but for sure, the pitch doesn’t help in the way we want to play because the ball has to be quick. This kind of pitch slows down the ball.

"In this moment, we have to learn things. More than the goals we conceded, we need to learn when you concede one, you cannot then concede a goal two minutes later. And in the second half, we conceded and then a few minutes we conceded another one. This is something that I just said to the players that we need to learn. When you concede one, it is the moment that you need to become stronger and not concede another one."

He added, "In this moment, sometimes you need to understand a bit better when we play back, when we play inside and when to play outside. After two or three weeks, this is completely normal. Less the first five minutes, the game for me was good."

The West London side will aim to cap off the US tour with a win as they play their final friendly game in America against Real Madrid on August 6 in Charlotte.